NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ATL02LA004
Registry · N4149D
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
ROBINSON HELICOPTER R44 II
Year of manufacture
2008
TCDS
H11NM · ROBINSON HELICOPTER CO
Engine
LYCOMING IO-540-AE1A5 (260 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20080311
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A4E693
Registrant of record
LANGLEY RICHARD
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's improper inflight planning which resulted in fuel exhaustion, and subsequent loss of engine power. A factor was the none suitable terrain.
Factual narrative
On October 24, 2001, at 0315 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-181, N4149D, collided with trees following a loss of engine power about four miles west of the Brunswick; Glynco Jetport, in Brunswick, Georgia. The airplane was operated by the private pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and instrument flight rules (IFR). Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an IFR flight plan was filed. The pilot and passenger received minor injuries and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight had originated in Nashville, Tennessee, at 2330, the previous day. According to the pilot, while enroute to Jacksonville, Florida, he noticed that he was low on fuel and contacted "flight control" for directions to the nearest airport. Air traffic control gave him a radar vector heading to Glynco Jetport. The pilot said he was at 3000 feet mean sea level and nine miles from the airport when he lost engine power. The pilot declared an emergency, and selectd a forced landing area. The airplane collided with trees four miles west of the airport as the pilot maneuvered for the emergency landing. During the examination of the airplane, no fuel was recovered from the fuel system. Examination of the accident site revealed that the right wing assembly was lodged in a tree. The left wing remained attached to the airframe. The pilot didnot report a mechanical problem with the airplane prior to the total loss of engine power. According to the pilot, the airplane lost power about three hours and forty five minutes into the flight. The flight departed with 50 gallons of fuel. According to the pilot, while enroute to Jacksonville, Florida, he noticed that he was low on fuel and contacted "flight control" for directions to the nearest airport. Air traffic control gave him a heading to Glynco Jetport. The pilot said he was at 3000 feet mean sea level and nine miles from the airport when he lost engine power. The pilot declared an emergency, and selectd a forced landing area. The airplane collided with trees four miles west of the airport as the pilot maneuvered for the emergency landing. During the examination of the airplane, no fuel was recovered from the fuel system Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2001_ATL02LA004.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 ↗