Mooney M20C N6870N

Summary

On 21 April 2016 at about 16:40 local time, a Mooney M20C registered N6870N was involved in an accident near Sand Springs, Oklahoma, 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

21 April 2016 at 16:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Sand Springs, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

William R. Pogue Municipal (OWP)

Coordinates

36.1867, -96.1500

Aircraft

Mooney M20C

Registration

N6870N

Category

Airplane

Year built

1968

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sand Springs → Ponca City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN16LA164

1 person had minor injuries.

A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot did not confirm the amount of fuel onboard the airplane during the preflight inspection, but later reported that the fuel gauges indicated that the left tank was about 1/4 full and that the right tank was about 1/3 full. He then departed on the airplane's first flight in nearly one year. During the initial climb after takeoff, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. Only a few drops of fuel were recovered from the fuel pump and gascolator, but the fuel revealed no evidence of water or other contamination. The fuel tanks were not compromised during impact. No fuel was observed in the left tank, and 10 to 12 ounces were drained from that sump. The right tank appeared to contain several gallons of fuel; however, the amount could not be quantified. The fuel selector was positioned to the left tank. The pilot reported that he relied on bad information from the fuel gauges and overestimated the amount of fuel available in the left tank; therefore, the loss of engine power is consistent with fuel starvation due to the pilot's selection of the left fuel tank, which contained an unusable amount of fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.