American Aviation AA 1A N6343L accident near Gainesville, Texas

Probable cause

The pilot’s inadequate preflight and inflight fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and subsequent forced landing in a field. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s delayed action in taking control of the airplane following the loss of engine power.

NTSB analysis

The private pilot was conducting a familiarization flight with the non-pilot-rated passenger, who had recently purchased the airplane. They flew to a nearby airport to practice touch-and-go landings. After completing about 15 landings, they proceeded to another airport to get fuel. About 5 minutes before reaching the airport, the passenger noticed that the fuel pressure gauge indicated 0 psi, but the engine was operating smoothly. The pilot turned on the electric fuel boost pump and the fuel pressure gauge returned to 5 psi. The boost pump remained on for the remainder of the flight. Upon arrival at the airport, a go-around was performed. The engine experienced a loss of power during the climb about 200 ft above ground level and he performed a forced landing to a field short of the runway.

Postaccident fuel consumption calculations revealed that the airplane likely contained about 1 gallon of fuel at the time of the accident, which would have been unusable. Examination of the fuel tanks revealed less than 1 cup of fuel in the left tank and no fuel remaining in the right tank. The fuel spill observed at the accident site by first responders was likely the 1 gallon of unusable fuel from the right tank, because the right wing was separated at the fuselage and its fuel line was fractured. No anomalies were noted with the engine and the propeller blades did not show any rotational signatures.

Although the pilot reported that he flew the airplane during the final approach and go-around, there were discrepancies in his statements that suggested that the non-pilot rated passenger was actually manipulating the airplane controls during the loss of engine power.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN17LA105 for the full record.