Flight CTLS N924RD

Summary

On 18 November 2023 at about 19:25 local time, a Flight CTLS registered N924RD was involved in an accident near Hungry Horse, Montana, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 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

18 November 2023 at 19:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Hungry Horse, Montana, United States

Coordinates

48.3201, -113.9810

Aircraft

Flight CTLS

Registration

N924RD

Category

Airplane

Year built

2016

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Great Fall → Kalispell

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR24LA048

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's inadequate fuel planning and improper in-flight decision-making, 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

About four hours into the repositioning flight, and about six miles from his intended destination, the pilot contacted the tower controller and was informed that the airport was under instrument flight rules (IFR) conditions, and that he was not cleared to land. The pilot made the decision to maneuver to the southeast to ascertain whether they should return to their home airport or land at a nearby airport and wait for the weather to clear. Shortly after departing the area enroute to an alternate airport, the airplane lost engine power. The pilot promptly attempted to restart the engine; however, his efforts were unsuccessful. The pilot subsequently executed a forced landing into a lake resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. He reported that there was no engine roughness or warnings before the engine quit, and it sounded as if the airplane ran out of fuel. He reported that he departed with 26.1 gallons of fuel and, according to the inflight computer, had about 5.72 gallons of remaining fuel when they arrived at the destination airport. In the recommendation section of the NTSB Accident/Incident Reporting Form 6120.1, the pilot listed ways that the accident could have been prevented, to include not relying on fuel management systems.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.