NTSB CAROL · Event
Event WPR10CA267
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
A total loss of engine power on final approach due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's inadequate fuel management.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that prior to departing on a cross-country flight the "airplane was topped [off with fuel] prior to the flight." Before the return trip the pilot visually checked the fuel level in the tanks and estimated that the right tank had 10 gallons and the left had 12 gallons of fuel. The pilot reported that while on final approach to the destination airport the "engine began to sputter" and lost power. He attempted to perform an engine restart, including switching the fuel selector to another tank, but was unsuccessful. The airplane subsequently impacted terrain short of the runway resulting in substantial damage to the right wing and firewall. In a verbal statement the pilot said that he "suspected a fuel management issue." An FAA inspector examined the airplane and found that the right fuel tank was empty and the left tank had approximately 3.5 gallons of fuel. According to the FAA inspector the fuel tanks were still intact and there was no evidence of a fuel leak. The pilot stated that prior to departing on a cross-country flight the "airplane was topped [off with fuel] prior to the flight." Before the return trip the pilot visually checked the fuel level in the tanks and estimated that the right tank had 10 gallons and the left had 12 gallons of fuel. The pilot reported that while on final approach to the destination airport the "engine began to sputter" and lost power. He attempted to perform an engine restart, including switching the fuel selector to another tank, but was unsuccessful. The airplane subsequently impacted terrain short of the runway resulting in substantial damage to the right wing and firewall. In a verbal statement the pilot said that he "suspected a fuel management issue." An FAA inspector examined the airplane and found that the right fuel tank was empty and the left tank had approximately 3.5 gallons of fuel. According to the FAA inspector the fuel tanks were still intact and there was no evidence of a fuel leak. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2010_WPR10CA267.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel starvation). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
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