NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ANC16CA058
Registry · N35589
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PIPER J5A
Engine
CONT MOTOR C90 SERIES (95 hp)
Seats / Engines
3 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19860620
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A3FAF2
Registrant of record
BRACALE GLENN S
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's improper fuel management, which led to fuel exhaustion and a subsequent forced landing on a road too narrow for the airplane.
Factual narrative
The pilot was returning from a local flight when he intentionally ran the right fuel tank dry. After switching fuel tanks, he attempted to restart the engine, but the attempt was unsuccessful. During an emergency landing on a narrow road, the right wing impacted brush and trees, causing the airplane to turn towards the right and resulted in substantial damage to both wings. The pilot was returning from a local flight when he intentionally ran the right fuel tank dry. After switching fuel tanks, he attempted to restart the engine, but the attempt was unsuccessful. During an emergency landing on a narrow road, the right wing impacted brush and trees, which resulted in substantial damage to both wings. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or 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 management - C
- C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Residence/building-Contributed to outcome
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2016_ANC16CA058.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel exhaustion). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- AOPA Air Safety Institute 2023 · Safety advisor
Safety Advisor: Fuel Awareness
AOPA Air Safety Institute safety advisor on preventing fuel-exhaustion and fuel-starvation accidents in general aviation. Covers pre-flight fuel planning, reserve requirements (14 CFR 91.151, 91.167),…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Abstract
U.S. Civil Rotorcraft Accidents, 1963 through 1997
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recorded 8,436 rotorcraft accidents during the period mid - 1963 through the end of 1997.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR)
A study of carburetor/induction system icing in general aviation accidents
An assessment of the frequency and severity of carburetor/induction icing in general-aviation accidents was performed. The available literature and accident data from the National Transportation Safet…
- NASA NTRS 2018 · Other
Parachuting to Safety
NASA's Langley Research Center awarded Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc., three Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to research and develop a new, low cost, lightweight recovery system …
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗