North American AT-6D N7435U

Summary

On 13 August 2011 at about 20:38 local time, a North American AT-6D registered N7435U, operated by George and Sheila Palmer, was involved in an accident near Canon, Georgia, 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

13 August 2011 at 20:38

Classification

Accident

Location

Canon, Georgia, United States

Coordinates

34.3375, -83.1250

Aircraft

North American AT-6D

Registration

N7435U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

George and Sheila Palmer

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bloomington → Athens

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11CA449

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that the airplane's fuel tanks were full prior to departing on the 2 1/2 hour cross-country flight. About 20 miles north of the destination, the pilot observed a low fuel caution. He requested from air traffic control a diversion to the nearest airport, which was about 20 miles east of the airplane's position; about 2 miles from the airport, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot selected a field and conducted a forced landing. The airplane landed hard, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and engine firewall. A postaccident examination revealed that the airplane's fuel tanks were empty and there was no evidence of fuel spillage. The pilot said that he had flown this route before and had used the same power settings for this flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.