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ERA11CA057

2010-11-12 · Livingston, New York, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 1A1

Current FAA registration · N46014

Make / Model
AERONCA 0-58B
Year of manufacture
1943 · 67 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR A&C65 SERIES (65 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19570504
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A59C33

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

Factual narrative

The pilot stated that the airplane's 15-gallon fuel tank was about half-full when he departed on a local flight. At the conclusion of the one-hour flight, while on approach to the airport, the airplane’s engine stopped producing power. The pilot set up for a forced landing to a southerly-oriented runway, and about 200 feet above the ground, the engine started and the aircraft climbed. The engine ran for several seconds and stopped again. The pilot then attempted to circle and land on the northerly-oriented runway. As he approached the runway, the pilot pulled back on the stick but there was no elevator control effectiveness. The airplane impacted the ground, the landing gear collapsed, and the engine firewall sustained substantial damage. Post accident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the fuel tank was void of fuel, and no fuel drained from the wing fuel sump when tested. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane. The pilot stated that the airplane's 15-gallon fuel tank was about half-full when he departed on a local flight. At the conclusion of the one-hour flight, while on approach to the airport, the airplane’s engine stopped producing power. He set up for a forced landing to a southerly-oriented runway, and about 200 feet above the ground, the engine re-started and the aircraft climbed. The engine ran for several seconds and stopped again. He then attempted to circle and land on the northerly-oriented runway. As he approached the runway, he pulled back on the control yoke to bleed off some airspeed, but there was no elevator control effectiveness as the airplane was close to a stall. The airplane impacted the ground, the landing gear collapsed, and the engine firewall sustained substantial damage. Postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the fuel tank was void of fuel, and no fuel drained from the wing fuel sump when tested. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2010_ERA11CA057.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, fuel exhaustion). All research papers