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BFO89LA051

1989-07-01 · BRIDGEPORT, West Virginia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CKB

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER BECAUSE OF FUEL STARVATION. FUEL STARVATION OCCURRED BECAUSE OF UNPORTING OF FUEL FROM THE TANK OUTLET WHEN THE AIRCRAFT WAS IN A SLIP ATTITUDE SHORTLY BEFORE THE POWER LOSS. A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR IS INADEQUATE INFORMATION IN THE FLIGHT MANUAL CAUTIONING OF THE POTENTIAL UNPORTING OF THE FUEL OUTLET.

Factual narrative

THE PLT WAS ON CLIMB OUT, AT 200 FT AGL, AFTER DOING THE THIRD T & G LNDG, WHEN THE ENG STARTED LOSING PWR. THE PLT MADE A FORCED LNDG IN AN OPEN FIELD AND THE ACFT STRUCK A POLE AND TREE. THE PLT SAID HE PUT THE ACFT IN A LEFT SLIP DURING THE THIRD LNDG APPROACH AND WAS USING THE LEFT FUEL TANK DURING THE FLIGHT. EXAMINATION OF THE ACFT REVEALED THE FUEL TANKS EACH HAD 5 GALS OF FUEL. EACH TANK CAPACITY IS 12.5 GALS. THE ENG STARTED ON THE FIRST ATTEMPT AND OPERATED WITHOUT DISCREPANCY DURING THE POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_BFO89LA051.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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