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LAX93LA070

1992-12-19 · OAKLAND, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport OAK

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

FUEL STARVATION DUE TO IMPROPER FUEL SYSTEM MANAGEMENT BY BOTH PILOTS AND THE FAILURE OF THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR TO ADEQUATELY SUPERVISE THE CONDUCT OF THE FLIGHT.

Factual narrative

THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR AND A PRIVATE PILOT DEPARTED ON A TWO HOUR FLIGHT FOR AN AIRCRAFT CHECK OUT AND INSTRUMENT DUAL INSTRUCTION. BOTH PILOTS REPORTED TO FAA INSPECTORS AND OAKLAND POLICE OFFICERS THAT DURING THE FLIGHT THEY NEGLECTED TO SWITCH FUEL TANKS AND INADVERTENTLY RAN THE LEFT FUEL TANK DRY WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH TO RUNWAY 27R. THE ENGINE COULD NOT BE RESTARTED IN TIME AND THE INSTRUCTOR LANDED THE AIRCRAFT ON A GOLF COURSE AND COLLIDED WITH GROUND OBSTRUCTIONS. AN FAA INSPECTOR EXAMINED THE AIRCRAFT AND FOUND THE LEFT FUEL TANK WAS EMPTY AND THE RIGHT TANK CONTAINED ABOUT 20 GALLONS OF FUEL. THIS WAS THE FIRST FLIGHT IN THIS TYPE OF AIRCRAFT BY THE PRIVATE PILOT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1992_LAX93LA070.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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