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GAA16CA347

2016-06-22 · Burnet, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport BMQ

Current FAA registration · N223CG

Make / Model
PIPER PA-12
Year of manufacture
1947 · 69 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING O-320-B2B (160 hp)
Seats / Engines
3 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20090807
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A1EC5F

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's failure to maintain adequate fuel levels, which resulted in fuel starvation, a loss of engine power, and a forced landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor's failure to monitor the fuel levels.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor of the amphibious float-equipped airplane reported that after an instructional lesson, while returning to the airport, the student pilot was too low "while turning base leg" of the traffic pattern so the student pilot moved the throttle forward to add power, but the engine did not respond. The flight instructor further reported that he took control of the airplane and made an off airport landing. During the landing, the airplane impacted a low hanging tree limb. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. A postaccident examination by the Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector revealed that the fuel tanks contained less than one gallon of fuel on board the airplane. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor of the amphibious float-equipped airplane reported that after an instructional lesson, while returning to the airport, the student pilot was too low "while turning base leg" of the traffic pattern so the student pilot moved the throttle forward to add power, but the engine did not respond. The flight instructor further reported that he took control of the airplane and made an off airport landing. During the landing, the airplane impacted a low hanging tree limb. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. A postaccident examination by the Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector revealed that the fuel tanks contained less than one gallon of fuel on board the airplane. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. 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
  • F Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Instructor/check pilot - F
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Tree(s)-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2016_GAA16CA347.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

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