Champion 7FC N456JE

Summary

On 25 May 1996 at about 19:30 local time, a Champion 7FC registered N456JE was involved in an accident near Stevensville, Maryland, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 May 1996 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Stevensville, Maryland, United States

Nearest airport

Bay Bridge (W29)

Coordinates

38.9895, -76.3009

Aircraft

Champion 7FC

Registration

N456JE

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD96LA086

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's misjudgment of the amount of fuel he had onboard the airplane which resulted in an engine failure due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the severity of the accident was the high vegetation encountered during the forced landing which resulted in the airplane's nose over.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that because the airplane had just had an annual he did an especially thorough preflight examination, and found no water and that he visually checked the fuel tanks. He said that he found adequate fuel. Shortly after takeoff the engine quit and the pilot made a forced landing in a field where the airplane came to rest inverted. Examination of the aircraft found the right fuel tank with less than 1/4' of fuel when measured with a dip stick, and the left fuel tank was empty with no evidence of a fuel spill at the accident site.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.