Flight CTLS N78BZ

Summary

On 10 May 2011 at about 18:46 local time, a Flight CTLS registered N78BZ, operated by Mint Air, LLC, was involved in an accident near Troy, South Carolina, United States. 2 people were 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.

Date

10 May 2011 at 18:46

Classification

Accident

Location

Troy, South Carolina, United States

Coordinates

33.9928, -82.0514

Aircraft

Flight CTLS

Registration

N78BZ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Mint Air, LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Brunswick → Greenville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11LA292

Nobody was injured.

The pilots’ failure to ensure that the airplane had enough fuel to complete the planned flight, which resulted in a total 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 flight instructor and the pilot-rated passenger reported that they began the cross-country flight with about 15 gallons of fuel, which was enough to fly for 3 hours. About 1 hour after departure, the airplane was in cruise flight when the pilots received a low fuel pressure warning on the airplane's multifunction display. Shortly after, the airplane's engine began to sputter. The instructor maneuvered the airplane toward a road to execute a forced landing, and the engine experienced a total loss of power. During landing, the airplane's right wing impacted a telephone pole guy wire. The right wing separated from the airframe, and the airplane came to rest upright in a ditch. At the accident site, examination of the airplane's right wing fuel tank revealed a “sheen” of fuel, and the left wing fuel tank was found to be dry. About one cup of fuel was drained from the gascolator, and the carburetor float bowls were absent of fuel. Both a visual inspection and a successful test run of the engine after the accident revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or anomalies. Examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of fuel leakage from the wings or the engine compartment. It is likely that the pilots overestimated the amount of fuel aboard the airplane, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.