Event CEN25LA403

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that there was a total loss of engine power while 1,200 feet above ground level and about 6 nautical miles short of his destination. He performed an off-airport landing, in a pasture, with cows at the far end. During short final, the pilot had to maneuver to avoid rough terrain and a fence and then flared the airplane too high and yawed to one side which resulted in a hard landing. The tailwheel collapsed and there was substantial damage to the rudder. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. He stated that a miscalculation of fuel quantity and fuel burn led to the fuel exhaustion. 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).

• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot
• — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Fence/fence post-Ability to respond/compensate
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Rough terrain-Ability to respond/compensate
• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot