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BFO88LA073

1988-08-07 · RACINE, West Virginia, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CRW

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE PILOT WAS ON THE FIRST LEG OF A FERRY FLIGHT TO WEST GERMANY. THE AIRCRAFT WAS ABOUT 30 MILES FROM CHARLESTON WHEN THE PILOT NOTICED THE FUEL GAUGES INDICATED ABOUT 5 & 11 GALS RESPECTIVELY REMAINING IN THE LEFT & RIGHT FUEL TANKS. HE PROCEEDED TO CHARLESTON, WHILE SWITCHING TANK POSITIONS, BEFORE FUEL EXHAUSTION OCCURRED ABOUT 15 MILES FROM CHARLESTON. HE MADE A FORCED LANDING ON A ROAD WITH THE RIGHT WING STRIKING A POWER LINE DURING THE LANDING APPROACH. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THE TANKS WERE EMPTY. THE AIRCRAFT WAS EQUIPPED WITH AN EXTRA FUEL TANK WITH A 28 GAL CAPACITY. THE AIRCRAFT WAS AIRBORNE ABOUT EIGHT HOURS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_BFO88LA073.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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