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ANC12CA112

2012-09-23 · Fairbanks, Alaska, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport AK7

Current FAA registration · N4483M

Make / Model
PIPER PA-12
Year of manufacture
1947 · 65 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-235 SERIES (115 hp)
Seats / Engines
3 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19560427
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A56B22

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Factual narrative

The pilot was in level cruise flight when the airplane’s engine lost power, resulting in an off-airport emergency landing. During the emergency landing, the airplane nosed over, and sustained substantial damage to the rudder. The pilot stated that he had exhausted all the fuel out of the right tank. When the engine lost power, he switched to the left fuel tank, but could not restart the engine. The airplane was in level cruise flight when the engine lost power, resulting in an off-airport emergency landing. During the emergency landing, the airplane nosed over and sustained substantial damage to the rudder. The pilot stated that he had exhausted all the fuel from the right tank. When the engine lost power, he switched to the left fuel tank but could not restart the engine. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2012_ANC12CA112.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel starvation). All research papers