Grumman AA5 N424WB

Summary

On 21 January 2020 at about 22:18 local time, a Grumman AA5 registered N424WB was involved in an accident near Tallahassee, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 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 January 2020 at 22:18

Classification

Accident

Location

Tallahassee, Florida, United States

Coordinates

30.2919, -84.2250

Aircraft

Grumman AA5

Registration

N424WB

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Enterprise → Wauchula

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20LA084

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's improper fuel planning, resulting in fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power in cruise flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot filled the airplane with 51 gallons of useable of fuel before he and the passenger departed for a round-trip cross-country flight. They flew approximately 4 hours to the destination airport. Later in the day, they departed for the return flight without fueling the airplane. The pilot stated he was going to stop somewhere along the route and get fuel but did not know where. While flying at 10,500 ft, about 1.5 hours into the flight, the engine sputtered. The pilot pushed in the mixture control full forward and turned on the electric fuel pump. The engine ran for a couple seconds and started sputtering again. Shortly after, the engine lost total power. The pilot then primed and restarted the engine. The engine started and ran for a few seconds and lost total power again. He further stated the left fuel gauge did not work and right fuel gauge indicated 1/4 tank when the engine lost power. The pilot declared an emergency and prepared for an off-airport landing. He saw a small sand pit that was surrounded by trees and slipped the airplane to lose altitude; however, the left wing contacted trees and impacted terrain. Examination at the accident site revealed that both fuel tanks were empty, and no smell of fuel was present. Detailed examination of the engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. Given this information, and the airplane’s expected endurance of about 5 flight hours, it is most likely that the engine lost power after all available fuel was exhausted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.