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ATL90LA137

1990-06-23 · BLOUNTVILLE, Tennessee, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport TRI

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S INACCURATE FUEL CONSUMPTION CALCULATIONS WHICH RESULTED IN FUEL EXHAUSTION.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS FUELED FOLLOWED BY A CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT. HIS FLIGHT PLANNING INDICATED THAT THE FLIGHT WOULD REQUIRE 2.5 HOUS. AFTER 3.5 HOURS THE AIRPLANE WAS ABOUT 8 MILES SHORT OF THE DESTINATION. HE STATED THE INCREASED TIME WAS BECAUSE OF HEADWINDS. HE DID NOT INDICATE THE MIXTURE SETTING USED DURING CRUISE. WHILE DESCENDING FOR LANDING THE ENGINE SPUTTERED, CAUGHT, & QUIT. A FORCED LANDING RESULTED IN A COLLISION WITH A FENCE. THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL MALFUNCTIONS REPORTED. ABOUT ONE GALLON OF FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE TANKS WHEN THE AIRPLANE WAS RECOVERED. LATER THE ENGINE WAS OPERATED. THE ONLY ANOMALY NOTED DURING THE ENGINE OPERATION WAS AN INDICATION OF A VERY RICH MIXTURE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_ATL90LA137.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.