FTW91LA037
1991-02-11 · BROWNSVILLE, Texas, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport BRO
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO REFUEL THE AIRPLANE PRIOR TO HIS DEPARTURE ON THE LAST LEG OF THE FLIGHT, WHICH RESULTED IN FUEL EXHAUSTION.
Factual narrative
UPON RETURNING FROM A ROUND ROBIN CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT, THE PILOT EXPERIENCED A POWER LOSS WHILE ON A TWO MILE FINAL TO HIS DESTINATION. HE REPORTED THE POWER LOSS TO THE TOWER AND STATED THAT HE THOUGHT HE HAD ENOUGH FUEL TO MAKE IT TO THE AIRPORT. THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN SHORT AND COLLIDED WITH A FENCE, AND A DITCH, SLIDING TO A STOP AGAINST THE AIRPORT PERIMETER FENCE. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT ABOUT ONE GALLON OF FUEL REMAINED IN THE ENTIRE FUEL SYSTEM. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1991_FTW91LA037.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
- AOPA Air Safety Institute 2023 · Safety advisor Safety Advisor: Fuel Awareness
AOPA Air Safety Institute safety advisor on preventing fuel-exhaustion and fuel-starvation accidents in general aviation. Covers pre-flight fuel planning, reserve requirements (14 CFR 91.151, 91.167),…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Abstract U.S. Civil Rotorcraft Accidents, 1963 through 1997
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recorded 8,436 rotorcraft accidents during the period mid - 1963 through the end of 1997.
- 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 2018 · Other Parachuting to Safety
NASA's Langley Research Center awarded Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc., three Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to research and develop a new, low cost, lightweight recovery system …