NTSB CAROL · Event
Event NYC91FA235
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT LOST CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE AND INADVERTENTLY STALLED AND SPUN THE AIRPLANE AT TOO LOW AN ALTITUDE TO ALLOW RECOVERY. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE; THE PILOT'S IMPROPER PREFLIGHT AND PLANNING, WHICH RESULTED IN FUEL EXHAUSTION, A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER, A FORCED LANDING, AN IMPROPER PROCEDURE BY TURNING BACK TO THE AIRPORT, AND THE PILOT'S LACK OF TOTAL FLIGHT EXPERIENCE.
Factual narrative
THE PILOT WAS FLYING IN THE AIRPORT TRAFFIC PATTERN DOING TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS FOR ABOUT 1.2 HOURS. SHORTLY AFTER TAKE OFF FROM RUNWAY 07, THE AIRPLANE WAS SEEN BY SEVERAL WITNESSES AT A LOW ALTITUDE. THE WITNESSES SAID THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND THE AIRPLANE MADE A LEFT TURN BACK TOWARDS THE AIRPORT, THEN WENT INTO A NOSE LOW ATTITUDE BEFORE IT IMPACTED THE GROUND. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE AT THE ACCIDENT SITE REVEALED THAT THERE WAS NO FUEL FOUND IN EITHER FUEL TANK. BOTH FUEL TANKS WERE INTACT. THE PILOT WAS OBSERVED DOING A PREFLIGHT INSPECTION, TO INCLUDE LOOKING IN BOTH FUEL TANKS AND DRAINING FUEL FROM EACH TANK. THE PILOT WAS OFFERED AND DECLINED FUEL SERVICING. RECORDS INDICATED THAT WHEN THE PILOT STARTED HIS FLIGHT, THE AIRPLANE HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN FLOWN 3.1 HOURS SINCE THE LAST REFUELED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1991_NYC91FA235.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
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data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing, stall, 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.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR)
An Evaluation of an Analytical Simulation of an Airplane with Tailplane Icing by Comparison to Flight Data
This report presents the assessment of an analytical tool developed as part of the NASA/FAA Tailplane Icing Program. The analytical tool is a specialized simulation program called TAILSM4 which was de…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Publication (TP)
NASA/FAA Tailplane Icing Program: Flight Test Report
This report presents results from research flights that explored the characteristics of an ice-contaminated tailplane using various simulated ice shapes attached to the leading edge of the horizontal …
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Other
[Tail Plane Icing]
The Aviation Safety Program initiated by NASA in 1997 has put greater emphasis in safety related research activities. Ice-contaminated-tailplane stall (ICTS) has been identified by the NASA Lewis Icin…
- 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…
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