NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA15CA261
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's improper fuel planning which resulted in fuel exhaustion, and loss of engine power. Additionally, the pilot's failure to maintain pitch control during the emergency landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he exhausted all the fuel in both of the fuel tanks prior to reaching his destination, and was forced to maneuver for an emergency landing in a hay field. The pilot reported that after he lost sight of the hay bales that lined the field, he decided to "slightly pull up." Subsequently, the airplane aerodynamically stalled and the right wing impacted the ground. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. The pilot reported that he exhausted all the fuel in both of the fuel tanks prior to reaching his destination, and was forced to maneuver for an emergency landing in a hay field. The pilot reported that after he lost sight of the hay bales that lined the field, he decided to "slightly pull up." Subsequently, the airplane aerodynamically stalled and the right wing impacted the ground. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Capability exceeded - C
- C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
- — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-(general)-Effect on operation
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2015_GAA15CA261.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 (stall, 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 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Automating Bird Diverter Installation through Multi-Aerial Robots and Signal Temporal Logic Specifications
This paper tackles the task assignment and trajectory generation problem for bird diverter installation using a fleet of multi-rotors.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Polycrystallinity enhances stress build-up around ice
Damage caused by freezing wet, porous materials is a widespread problem, but is hard to predict or control. Here, we show that polycrystallinity makes a great difference to the stress build-up process…
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (JAAER)
Analysis on the Negative Emotional, Physiological, and Cognitive Responses Elicited from of the Activation of a Stall Alarm
Failing to identify an aerodynamic stall can lead to the inability of an aircraft to sustain flight. To warn pilots of an impending or fully-developed stall, many aircraft have safety devices installe…
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗