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CEN21LA050

2020-10-05 · San Saba, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 81R

Current FAA registration · N7333V

Make / Model
BELLANCA 17-30
Engine
CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES (285 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19690214
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A9D905

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s improper decision-making, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Factual narrative

The student pilot reported to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector that he was in cruise flight when he ran out of fuel in the right fuel tank and the airplane’s engine lost all power. He attempted to get the engine restarted but could not. The student pilot subsequently performed a forced landing to a highway about a half a mile east of his intended destination airport. During the forced landing, one wing sustained substantial damage to the spar. The student pilot reported to the inspector that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot did not provide an NTSB Form 6120.1 Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid management
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Student/instructed pilot
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Student/instructed pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_CEN21LA050.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel starvation). All research papers