NTSB CAROL · Event
Event BFO91LA006
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE INFLIGHT DECISION CAUSING FUEL EXHAUSTION.
Factual narrative
THE ACFT WAS BEING FERRIED TO THE NEW OWNER WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED ON THE THIRD LEG OF A FLIGHT FROM HARTFORD, CT TO DALLAS, TX. THE PLT REPORTED THAT THE FUEL TANKS WERE FULL WHEN HE TOOK OFF AT 2020 EDT. HE PROCEEDED EN ROUTE AT 4000 FT MSL AT A GROUNDSPEED OF ABOUT 96 KTS. THE PLT STATED THE FUEL MIXTURE WAS LEANED FOR THE FLIGHT. ABOUT 35 MILES FROM THE DESTINATION HE NOTICED ONE FUEL QUANTITY GAGE INDICATED NEAR EMPTY, AND THE SECOND GAGE INDICATED LESS THAN HALF-FULL. ABOUT 10 MILES OUT BOTH GAGES INDICATED NEAR EMPTY. SOON AFTERWARDS THE ENGINE LOST POWER, BUT HE RESTARTED THE ENGINE. HOWEVER THE ENGINE LOST POWER AGAIN AND HE MADE A FORCED LANDING IN A FIELD ABOUT A MILE NE OF LEX. ABOUT 4 OZS OF FUEL WAS DRAINED FROM THE FUEL SYSTEM DURING THE POST- ACCIDENT EXAMINATION. FUEL CONSUMPTION CALCULATIONS INDICATE ABOUT 5 GALS OF FUEL SHOULD HAVE REMAINED WHEN THE POWER LOST OCCURRED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1990_BFO91LA006.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 …
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