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FTW90LA134

1990-07-08 · GAINSVILLE, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport GLE

N2008A has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (DJI MAVIC 3 ENTERPRISE), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

FUEL EXHAUSTION DUE TO INADEQUATE PLANNING BY THE PILOT.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT EXECUTED A GEAR DOWN FORCED LANDING IN AN OPEN FIELD FOLLOWING A DUAL ENGINE FAILURE DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION. THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS ABOUT 1/2 MILE SHORT OF THE THRESHOLD OF THE RUNWAY AT THE AIRPORT TO WHICH THE PIC HAD ELECTED TO DIVERT DUE TO A LOW FUEL STATE. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED A TOTAL OF 2 GALLONS PRESENT IN THE FUEL SYSTEM WHICH CARRIED 103 GAL., OF WHICH 100 WERE USABLE. CALCULATIONS MADE USING THE OUTBOUND FUEL CONSUMPTION FIGURES INDICATED A FUEL BURN OF 98.8 GAL. UP TO THE TIME OF THE ENGINE FAILURES. DURING THE RETURN LEG, THE FLIGHT ENCOUNTERED HEAD WINGS WHICH ADDED 1 HR. TO THE FLIGHT TIME. HOWEVER, THE PIC STATED THAT HE DID NOT BECOME AWARE OF THE ADVERSE WINDS UNTIL LATE IN THE FLIGHT. AT THAT TIME THE DECISION TO DIVERT WAS MADE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_FTW90LA134.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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