GAA19CA067

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that prior to departure, he overlooked a NOTAM which identified that fuel was not available at the airport where he had landed and had planned to refuel. He assessed his fuel quantity and departed the airport, subsequently, the engine lost power. He pitched the nose down, the engine regained power, but the pilot realized that the fuel supply was all but exhausted. He attempted to maintain power and altitude, but eventually selected a field to land. He selected a touchdown point and circled to land, but the airplane did not complete the turn before he had to level the wings. The airplane touched down gently, but the airplane overran the intended landing area, collided with a drainage culvert, and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the composite fuselage and the windscreen. The pilot determined that he had misinterpreted the manufacturer's pilot operating handbook's declaration of the airplane's total fuel capacity and the airplane's total useable fuel quantity. The pilot reported that, before departure, he noted that a NOTAM stated that fuel was not available at the airport where he had landed and had planned to refuel but that he felt he had sufficient fuel onboard to continue to another airport to get fuel if necessary. He assessed his fuel quantity and departed the airport, and subsequently, the engine lost power. He pitched the nose down, and the engine regained power, but the pilot realized that the fuel supply was almost exhausted. He attempted to maintain power and altitude but eventually chose to land in a field. He selected a touchdown point and circled to land, but the airplane did not complete the turn before he had to level the wings. The airplane touched down gently but overran the intended landing area, collided with a drainage culvert, and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the composite fuselage and windscreen. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
• F Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Understanding/comprehension-Pilot - F
• F Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Fuel system-Fuel storage-Related operating info - F