Event GAA17CA121

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that while on base to final, the engine quit. He further reported that the airplane could not make it to the runway and force landed in a small field a half mile from the airport. The airplane impacted a tree during landing, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane's fuselage and wings. The pilot reported there were no pre-accident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector who responded to the accident stated, that when he arrived he only observed a few drops of fuel remaining in the airplane's undamaged fuel system. He further stated that prior to removal of the wings from the airplane for transport, all the fuel was drained from the fuel tanks, totaling approximately 1.5 gallons of fuel. The pilot reported that, while on base to final, the engine "quit." He added that the airplane could not reach the runway, so he conducted a forced landed in a small field 1/2 mile from the airport. The airplane impacted a tree during landing, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane's fuselage and wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The Federal Aviation Administration inspector who responded to the accident stated that, when he arrived, he only observed a few drops of fuel remaining in the airplane's undamaged fuel system. He further stated that, before removal of the wings from the airplane for transport, about 1.5 gallons of total fuel was drained from the fuel tanks. 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 Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Tree(s)-Contributed to outcome