NTSB CAROL · Event
Event DEN89LA180
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
INADEQUATE PREFLIGHT BY THE PILOT, WHICH RESULTED IN FUEL EXHAUSTION, DUE TO HIS MISJUDGEMENT OF THE FUEL SUPPLY. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: A FALSE FUEL GAGE INDICATION, AND THE DITCH IN THE EMERGENCY LANDING AREA.
Factual narrative
THE PVT PLT & HIS SON WERE PRACTICING TAKEOFFS & LANDINGS ON RWY 16 AT DUSK. THE WINDS WERE ESTIMATED TO BE FM 160 DEG AT 5 KTS. THE PLT SAID HE TOOK OFF, & WHILE TURNING X-WIND, THE ENG STOPPED RUNNING. HE ROCKED THE WINGS IN AN ATTEMPT TO RESTORE FUEL TO THE ENG, BUT TO NO AVAIL. HE TURNED THE PLANE BACK TOWARD THE ARPT & LANDED ON TERRAIN EAST OF THE RWY. THE LANDING GEAR STRUCK AN IRRIGATION DITCH & WAS DAMAGED AS THE PLANE SKIDDED TO A HALT ON THE SOUTHEAST EDGE OF RWY 16. A POST-ACDNT EXAM REVEALED NO FUEL WAS REMAINING IN THE GASCOLATOR & LESS THAN 1 QT OF FUEL WAS IN THE TANKS. AFTER THE TANKS WERE DRAINED, THE FUEL GAGES INDCD THAT THE LEFT TANK WAS EMPTY & THAT THE RIGHT TANK WAS 1/4 FULL. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1989_DEN89LA180.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 (icing, 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.
- 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 2026 · Contractor Report (CR)
Icing Physics Studies Using the 3D SIDRM Test Article: 2023 Icing Tests Analysis
In-flight icing is an important safety issue and is a factor that affects aircraft design and performance. Newer regulations are driving a need for improvements in airframe and engine icing simulation…
- arXiv 2025 · arXiv preprint
Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning for UAV-Assisted 5G Network Slicing: A Comparative Study of MAPPO, MADDPG, and MADQN
The growing demand for robust, scalable wireless networks in the 5G-and-beyond era has led to the deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as mobile base stations to enhance coverage in dense urb…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
A Mathematical Model on the Temporal Dynamics of Aviation Competitive Pricing
This study investigates the competitive dynamics of airport pricing using U.S. airport data to validate the findings. It employs linear and nonlinear ordinary differential equation models to analyze t…
- NASA NTRS 2025 · Presentation
NASA Icing Update – March 2025
This NASA Icing Update was prepared for presentation to the SAE International AC-9C Inflight Icing Technology Committee. This update includes the following topics: planned Rotational Icing Scaling tes…
- arXiv 2024 · arXiv preprint
An energy-stable phase-field model for droplet icing simulations
A phase-field model for three-phase flows is established by combining the Navier-Stokes (NS) and the energy equations, with the Allen-Cahn (AC) and Cahn-Hilliard (CH) equations and is demonstrated ana…
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