MIA91LA045
1990-12-16 · PALMETTO, Florida, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport 48X
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
POOR PREFLIGHT PLANNING BY THE PILOT DUE TO HIS FAILURE TO PURCHASE FUEL BEFORE DEPARTURE RESULTING IN THE TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE INACCURATE FUEL GAUGES.
Factual narrative
DURING NORMAL CRUISE FLIGHT, THE ENGINE QUIT DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION. A FORCED LANDING WAS MADE IN A FIELD AND THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER. THE STUDENT PILOT STATED THAT HE WAS NOT TOLD TO PURCHASE FUEL. THE MANAGER OF THE FLIGHT SCHOOL DENIED THIS. THE PILOT FURTHER STATED THE FUEL QUANTITY INDICATORS WERE NOT INDICATING EMPTY WHEN THE ENGINE QUIT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1990_MIA91LA045.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
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