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CEN21LA365

2021-08-01 · Urbana, Ohio, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport I74

Current FAA registration · N443JB

Make / Model
VAN'S AIRCRAFT RV-6
Year of manufacture
1989 · 32 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20010117
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A5568C

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection and fuel planning which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

Factual narrative

The private pilot reported that he did not visually check the fuel quantity in the two wing fuel tanks before takeoff. While the airplane was on final approach to land, with the right-wing fuel tank selected, the engine stopped producing power. The airplane impacted a corn field about ½ mile away from the airport. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount and the left wing. A postaccident examination revealed that the right-wing fuel tank was empty. A Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector stated that the pilot admitted to “running out of gas.” Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Inspection-Preflight inspection-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Not inspected
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft power plant-Engine (reciprocating)-(general)-Failure
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_CEN21LA365.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 exhaustion). All research papers