NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CEN15CA006
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's improper fuel management, which resulted in losses of power on both engines due to fuel exhaustion.
Factual narrative
During a repositioning flight, the airplane encountered winds aloft that were higher than forecasted. The pilot reported that 25 minutes into the flight the left engine stopped producing power due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot secured the engine and continued towards the closest airport. Approximately 8 to 9 minutes later, the right engine stopped producing power due to fuel exhaustion. During a forced landing to a field, the right wing was substantially damaged. There were no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. During a repositioning flight, the airplane encountered winds aloft that were higher than forecasted. The pilot reported that 25 minutes into the flight the left engine stopped producing power due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot secured the engine and continued towards the closest airport. Approximately 8 to 9 minutes later, the right engine stopped producing power due to fuel exhaustion. During a forced landing to a field, the right wing was substantially damaged. There were no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C
- C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid management - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2014_CEN15CA006.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 …
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗