Steen Aero Lab SKYBOLT I N14DE
25 April 2001 · Germantown, Tennessee, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 25 April 2001 at about 21:25 local time, a Steen Aero Lab SKYBOLT I registered N14DE was involved in an accident near Germantown, Tennessee, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 21:25
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Germantown, Tennessee, United States
- Coordinates
- 35.0803, -89.7899
- Aircraft
- Steen Aero Lab SKYBOLT I
- Registration
- N14DE
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Collierville → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- MIA01LA128
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to conduct proper preflight planning and preparation, resulting in fuel exhaustion during cruise flight, and the subsequent emergency descent and forced landing to a residential street colliding with a vehicle, utility pole, mail box, and street sign.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
According to the pilot, as a result of his preflight walk-around inspection, he felt confident that he had at least 12 gallons of fuel on board. Since his planned flight was for about 20 minutes, and knowing fuel burn is about 8.5 gallons an hour, he felt he had adequate fuel aboard. Actually, the fuel aboard was about 4 gallons, and 10 minutes into the flight, the engine quit while he was overhead a residential area of Germantown at 1500 feet msl. He reasoned that his only alternative was a forced landing to a residential street, and during the landing, the aircraft sequentially collided with an automobile rear window with the landing gear, a utility pole and mailbox with the wings, and a street sign with the horizontal stabilizer. Postcrash examination by FAA inspectors and the pilot revealed no evidence of fuel aboard.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Jun 2001 | Air Tractor AT-301 | Finley, Tennessee, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 17 Oct 2001 | Cessna 188B | Whiteville, Tennessee, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 24 Jan 2001 | Beechcraft F90-42 | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | Amprite Aviation Inc. | Fatal | 4 |
| 24 Jul 2001 | Mitchell T-10 | Ashland City, Tennessee, United States | Rayburn L. Williams | Serious injuries | - |
| 9 May 2001 | Cessna 150H | Maryville, Tennessee, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 27 Sep 2001 | Bell OH-58A | Sevierville, Tennessee, United States | - | No injuries | - |