American AA N5787L

Summary

On 24 May 2018 at about 20:20 local time, a American AA registered N5787L was involved in an accident near Port Orange, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 May 2018 at 20:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Port Orange, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Spruce Creek (7FL6)

Coordinates

29.0742, -81.0833

Aircraft

American AA

Registration

N5787L

Category

Airplane

Year built

1969

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Daytona Beach → Daytona Beach

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA343

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection of the fuel, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent total loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, shortly after departure, about 1,000 ft above ground level, the engine lost total power. While searching for an off-airport landing spot, he made a right turn toward the airport, positioned the fuel selector knob toward the second tank, and attempted to restart the engine. The engine restarted briefly but then lost power. He attempted to restart the engine again after he repositioned the fuel selector back to the original tank, but the engine did not start. He conducted a forced landing in a field with trees and heavy vegetation 2 miles west of the airport. The pilot added that he "should have made a positive determination of fuel on board prior to takeoff." The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. Postaccident examination by the Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed no distinctive fuel odor at the accident site, and only a cup of fuel was recovered from both tanks.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.