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WPR23LA074

2022-12-17 · Cottonwood, California, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CA04

Current FAA registration · N9YA

Make / Model
GLASAIR GLASAIR
Year of manufacture
1986 · 36 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING O-320-B1A (160 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20081222
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AC6CA1

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s fuel mismanagement which resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, during the takeoff, the fuel tank selector was mistakenly set to the auxiliary tank. Five minutes later the auxiliary tank ran out of gas, which resulted in a total loss of engine power. The pilot switched to the main tank; however, there was insufficient altitude available for a recovery. The airplane struck terrain about 100 ft short of the runway, which substantially damaged the left and right wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action selection-Pilot
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of policy/procedure-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid management

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_WPR23LA074.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel starvation). All research papers