ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 316509
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| Date: | Thursday 6 July 2023 |
| Time: | 08:24 |
| Type: |  Diamond DA20-C1 Eclipse |
| Owner/operator: | Flight Club 502 Inc |
| Registration: | N988CT |
| MSN: | C0088 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1999 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 9949 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental IO-240-B32B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Jeffersonville, IN -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Louisville-Bowman Field, KY (LOU/KLOU) |
| Louisville-Bowman Field, KY (LOU/KLOU) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On July 6, 2023, at about 0824 local time, a Diamond DA20-C1 Eclipse, N988CT, sustained substantial damage in a forced landing near Jeffersonville, Indiana. The flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. The local training flight originated from Louisville-Bowman Field (LOU/KLOU), Kentucky.
The flight instructor reported that, before the flight, he and his student inserted a calibrated wooden stick into the fuel tank to check the fuel quantity of the airplane and believed that it indicated just below ¾ tank, or about 16 gallons of fuel remaining. They completed the preflight inspection and proceeded with the flight to another airport for takeoff and landing practice. While at the other airport, they performed six circuits of the traffic pattern before proceeding back toward the departure airport.
As they approached the airport, the flight instructor heard the engine speed decrease and initially thought his student had retarded the throttle, but she had not. The engine recovered briefly and then sputtered again. The flight instructor said he checked the mixture, master switch, ignition, and fuel pump settings, and the engine continued to have spurts of power. He surmised that they were experiencing a fuel issue and noted that the fuel gauge read empty. He notified air traffic control, and was cleared to land, but had insufficient altitude and executed a forced landing to a corn field. The airplane received substantial damage to the fuselage including separation of the empennage.
Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no usable fuel remained in the fuel tank.
The flight instructor reported that he believed the time of day, weather conditions and lighting combined with an expectation bias, contributed to misreading of the fuel stick, which likely read below ½ tank before the flight. He also noted that he prepared a safety presentation about the event to present to flying club members and other aviation meetings.
Based on the available information, the engine power loss was due to exhaustion of the airplane’s fuel supply.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s improper fuel management, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.wave3.com/2023/07/06/isp-nobody-injured-after-small-plane-crashes-jeffersonville/
https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/indiana/plane-crash-jeffersonville-indiana/417-f19cee56-1f97-4061-87a0-534260bc630b
https://www.wdrb.com/news/no-one-hurt-after-small-plane-crashes-in-jeffersonville-field/article_5a269aaa-1bfc-11ee-a15c-bba43fe4fd0b.html
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=192547
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=988CT
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N988CT/history/20230706/1129Z/KLOU/L%2038.31165%20-85.67921
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=adc920&lat=38.312&lon=-85.691&zoom=13.4&showTrace=2023-07-06&leg=2
https://www.flightclub502.org/
https://scontent-ams2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/332208510_2185030761681403_2943476775239139876_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&cb=99be929b-59f725be&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=avmkD9kbpncAX95ZIPM&_nc_ht=scontent-ams2-1.xx&oh=00_AfCBs1sSJveWi7PpeUMLEDDM-nA4biLRaxkowgljDBqd-g&oe=64AC17EC (photo)
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Jul-2023 13:55 | gerard57 | Added |
| 06-Jul-2023 14:31 | nhofmann54 | Updated |
| 06-Jul-2023 17:00 | RobertMB | Updated |
| 07-Jul-2023 04:57 | The Editor | Updated |
| 30-Sep-2023 06:34 | Editor | Updated |
| 30-Oct-2023 01:26 | Captain Adam | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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