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ERA11CA364

2011-06-25 · Brasstown, North Carolina, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N99PM

Make / Model
HELIO H-295
Year of manufacture
1966 · 45 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING GO-480 SERIES (295 hp)
Seats / Engines
6 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19720628
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S ADD19B

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

Factual narrative

While descending for landing the airplane's engine lost power. The pilot was able restore engine power for a few seconds but it then sputtered and lost power again. The pilot was unable to restart the engine, so he set up a glide for the airstrip he was descending to. There was a headwind and when he realized he could not make the airstrip, the pilot performed a forced landing in a field. The airplane's landing gear struck the top of a tree, and the airplane pitched down and impacted the ground sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage and tail. Examination of the airplane and engine by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that, all of the fuel tanks were devoid of fuel and only three drops of fuel were discovered in the carburetor and fuel supply line. There was no evidence of any pre-impact mechanical malfunction of the airplane or engine. While the flight was descending for landing, the airplane's engine lost power. The pilot was able restore engine power for a few seconds, but the engine then sputtered and lost power again. The pilot was unable to restart the engine, so he set up a glide for the airstrip he was descending to. There was a headwind and, when he realized he could not make the airstrip, the pilot performed a forced landing in a field. The airplane's landing gear struck the top of a tree and the airplane pitched down and impacted the ground, where it sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and tail. A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed that all of the fuel tanks were devoid of fuel and only three drops of fuel were discovered in the carburetor and fuel supply line. The pilot stated that there was no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunction of the airplane or engine. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_ERA11CA364.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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