ATL89LA085
1989-02-11 · ONEONTA, Alabama, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport 20A
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
INADEQUATE PREFLIGHT BY THE PILOT AND FUEL EXHAUSTION. TREES CONTRIBUTED TO THE AIRCRAFT DAMAGE.
Factual narrative
THE AIRPLANE WAS LAST 'TOPPED OFF' WITH FUEL ON 1/28/89, THEN WAS FLOWN ON 4 FLTS FOR A TOTAL OF 5.5 HRS. DRG THAT TIME,AN ADDITIONAL 20 GAL OF FUEL WAS ADDED. BEFORE THE ACDNT FLT, THE PLT NOTED THE FUEL LEVEL WAS LOW, SO HE ELECTED TO FLY TO A NEARBY ARPT TO REFUEL. SHORTLY AFTER STARTING THE FLIGHT, THE ENGINE LOST POWER & THE PLT WAS FORCED TO LAND IN TREES. ONLY ABOUT 1 PINT OF FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE ACFT AFTER THE ACDNT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1989_ATL89LA085.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Search this event elsewhere
External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.
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Related research
Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel exhaustion). All research papers
- AOPA Air Safety Institute 2023 · Safety advisor Safety Advisor: Fuel Awareness
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- 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
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