NTSB CAROL · Event
Event NYC82DA173
Aircraft involved
Factual narrative
THE PILOT DEPARTED ON A CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT FROM JACKMAN, ME TO ROCHESTER, NH AND RETURN. PRIOR TO TAKEOFF, THE FUEL TANKS WERE TOPPED OFF. DURING THE PREFLIGHT, THE LEFT FUEL GAUGE WAS FOUND TO BE "PINNED" AT THE FULL POSITION AND WAS INOPERATIVE. AFTER LANDING AT ROCHESTER, THE PILOT TOOK OFF ON THE RETURN FLIGHT WITHOUT REFUELING. AT THAT TIME, HE NOTED THAT THE OPERATING (RIGHT) FUEL GAUGE WAS INDICATING AT LEAST HALF FULL. WHILE EN ROUTE IN THE VICINITY OF SEBAGO LAKE, THE PILOT NOTICED THAT THE REMAINING GAUGE WAS QUICKLY BECOMING LOW. HE CHANGED COURSE TO LAND AT SANFORD, ME. BEFORE REACHING SANFORD, THE ENGINE LOST POWER FROM FUEL EXHAUSTION AFTER ABOUT 3.7 HRS OF FLIGHT TIME. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO LAND IN A SMALL FIELD WITH TREES AND WIRES AT THE NEAR END, BUT WAS UNABLE. HE THEN AIMED THE AIRCRAFT BETWEEN ROWS OF TREES. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE WINGS COLLIDED WITH TREE TRUNKS AT ABOUT 18 FT AGL. THE PILOT STATED HE FIGURED THE FUEL CONSUMPTION WOULD BE 4 TO 4.3 GAL/HR. THE ACTUAL CONSUMPTION WAS ABOUT 6 GAL/HR. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1982_NYC82DA173.txt.
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Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel exhaustion). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- AOPA Air Safety Institute 2023 · Safety advisor
Safety Advisor: Fuel Awareness
AOPA Air Safety Institute safety advisor on preventing fuel-exhaustion and fuel-starvation accidents in general aviation. Covers pre-flight fuel planning, reserve requirements (14 CFR 91.151, 91.167),…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Abstract
U.S. Civil Rotorcraft Accidents, 1963 through 1997
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recorded 8,436 rotorcraft accidents during the period mid - 1963 through the end of 1997.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR)
A study of carburetor/induction system icing in general aviation accidents
An assessment of the frequency and severity of carburetor/induction icing in general-aviation accidents was performed. The available literature and accident data from the National Transportation Safet…
- NASA NTRS 2018 · Other
Parachuting to Safety
NASA's Langley Research Center awarded Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc., three Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to research and develop a new, low cost, lightweight recovery system …
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