Davidson County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lexington, North Carolina 27292
Sunday, October 23, 2011 11:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the passenger, when the cross-country flight was about 20 minutes from the destination airport, the pilot informed him that they had 7 gallons of fuel remaining in the right fuel tank. The passenger encouraged the pilot to switch to the left fuel tank, but he declined. The passenger asked the pilot if he was going to land straight ahead on the runway that was aligned with their course. The pilot stated no, he was going to enter a left downwind for the opposite direction runway. About 2.25 hours into the flight, the pilot lowered the nosewheel and was about to turn from the downwind leg to the base leg of the traffic pattern, when the engine began sputtering. The pilot initiated a steep descending turn toward the runway and did not attempt to change the fuel tank. The airplane collided with trees and terrain about 1/8 mile before the runway. Examination of the crash site revealed that the airplane impacted an isolated clump of trees in an open, flat soybean field. During postaccident examination of the airplane, the fuel selector valve was found positioned between the left tank position and the off position; however, this may not represent the pre-impact position of the valve, because the cables connected to the valve could have moved during the impact sequence. The left and right fuel sump tanks were not ruptured, the left sump tank contained about 1 gallon of fuel, and the right sump tank was empty. The left and right main fuel tanks were ruptured and contained no fuel. No evidence of fuel leakage from either main tank was noted. Examination of the airframe, flight controls, and engine assembly did not reveal evidence of any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Based on the passenger’s statement and the fuel quantities found in the sump tanks, it is likely that the pilot delayed switching to the left fuel tank and allowed the right fuel tank to run dry.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/23/2011
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1100
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Lexington
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 27292
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 354731N
Event Location Longitude 0801751W
Event Location Airport Davidson County
Event Location Nearest Airport ID EXX
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1115 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID EXX
Elevation of weather observation facility 733
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.16
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 29566
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 23 2012 11:20PM
User who most recently changed record snyg
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N795DB
NTSB Number ERA12FA021
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name ELKIND BRUCE
Aircraft Model COZY MK IV
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 165
Certified Max Gross Weight 2050
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 3
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Feb 9 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BREMER ROLAND AUGUSTUS
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City JACKSONVILLE
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32225-1258
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name BREMER ROLAND AUGUSTUS
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City JACKSONVILLE
Operator State FL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 32225-1258
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code CRG
Departure City Jacksonville
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 846
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code EXX
Destination City Lexington
Destination State NC
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 23 2012 11:22PM
User who most recently changed record snyg
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 24
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --