SEA05LA126
2005-06-24 · Mountain Home, Idaho, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Current FAA registration · N4865X
- Make / Model
- RANS S-2R
- Engine
- P&W R1340 SERIES (600 hp)
- Seats / Engines
- 1 seats · 1 engine
- Last airworthiness date
- 19740919
- ADS-B equipped
- Yes — Mode-S A60200
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's inadequate in-flight decision by failing to refuel resulting in fuel exhaustion during cruise flight and the loss of engine power. A vehicle was a factor in the on ground collision.
Factual narrative
On June 24, 2005, at 0756 mountain daylight time, a Rockwell International S-2R, N4865X, registered to a private individual, and operated by Nyssa Ag Service as a 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight, experienced a loss of engine power while returning to Mountain Home Municipal Airport, Mountain Home, Idaho. During the emergency off airport landing, the aircraft collided with a heavy truck traveling on a highway. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The aircraft was substantially damaged and the commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The driver of the truck was not injured. The pilot reported to Federal Aviation Administration Inspectors from the Boise, Idaho, Flight Standards District Office, who responded to the accident site, that he had just dumped a load of pesticide and was returning to the airport, knowing that he was low on fuel. About 1/2 mile short of the runway, the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion. During the forced landing on a highway, he overtook a heavy truck during the landing roll. The right wing came in contact with the truck and the aircraft subsequently traveled off the north side of the road and down an embankment before coming to rest. The pilot reported that he had just dumped a load of pesticide and was returning to the airport, knowing that he was low on fuel. About 1/2 mile short of the runway, the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion. During the forced landing on a highway, he overtook a heavy truck during the landing roll. The right wing came in contact with the truck and the aircraft subsequently traveled off the north side of the road and down an embankment before coming to rest. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2005_SEA05LA126.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel exhaustion). All research papers
- 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 …