Titan TITAN TORNADO N5082N

Summary

On 2 July 2020 at about 00:15 local time, a Titan TITAN TORNADO registered N5082N was involved in an accident near Marksville, Louisiana, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 July 2020 at 00:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Marksville, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

31.1000, -92.2244

Aircraft

Titan TITAN TORNADO

Registration

N5082N

Category

Airplane

Year built

2006

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lecompte → Lecompte

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20LA265

2 people were seriously injured.

The student pilot’s failure to ensure sufficient fuel onboard, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, which resulted in impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot departed for a local, personal flight with one passenger onboard. The student reported that the engine stopped producing power and that he tried to restart it without success. The student had no further recollection of events. A witness reported hearing the airplane having engine “trouble” and subsequently seeing it impact a cornfield, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The propeller could be rotated by hand, and the engine was not was not mechanically bound. The fuel tank was empty and 1/4 cup of fuel was drained from the sump drain valve. No fuel was found in the fuel bowl. Given the evidence, it is likely the engine experienced a total loss of power due to fuel exhaustion. It is likely that the student failed to verify sufficient fuel was onboard for the flight. The oil dipstick was dry, and only five drops of oil were drained from the bottom drain valve. However, the airplane had been in a steep, nose-down attitude for 2 weeks, which could have resulted in oil going into a sump or hidden cavity.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.