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CEN11LA061

2010-11-04 · Fruitvale, Texas, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate fuel planning.

Factual narrative

On November 4, 2010 approximately 2110 central standard time, a Siai-Marchetti S.205/22R, N971WA, registered to and operated by FreddieMac Aviation, LLC, was destroyed during a night forced landing when the airplane struck a power line and trees and impacted terrain after the engine lost power near Fruitvale, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident. The business flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was seriously injured. The cross-country flight originated at Denton (DTO), Texas, and was en route to Shreveport (SHV), Louisiana. According to the pilot's accident report, earlier that day the airplane was serviced with 14 gallons of fuel (the gauges registered three-quarters full) and he flew from SHV to DTO. At DTO, 20 gallons of fuel were added and the pilot returned to SHV. The airplane was serviced with 24 gallons of fuel and the pilot returned to DTO to take his business partner home. He did not refuel at DTO. En route back to SHV at 7,500 feet, the engine lost power. The pilot said it was his opinion that he "ran out of fuel." The airplane was serviced with 14 gallons of fuel (the gauges registered three-quarters full) prior to departure, and the pilot flew to another airport where 20 gallons of fuel were added. The pilot then returned to his home base, where the airplane was serviced with another 24 gallons of fuel. The pilot flew back to the same airport but did not refuel there. While en route back to his home airport at night, the engine lost power. The pilot made a forced landing, during which the airplane collided with a power line and trees. The pilot said that he ran out of fuel and that the airplane burned more fuel than he anticipated. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2010_CEN11LA061.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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