25 Jun 2010: QUARTZ MOUNTAIN AEROSPACE INC 11E

25 Jun 2010: QUARTZ MOUNTAIN AEROSPACE INC 11E — Unknown operator

No fatalities • Inglis, FL, United States

Probable cause

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's fuel mismanagement.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

According to the pilots, the day before the accident, they had flown the rented airplane, and returned it to the fixed base operator (FBO) to have it topped off with fuel. Later that evening, they flew it for about 2 hours, conducting touch and go landings at several different airports. They returned to the FBO late at night and did not refuel the airplane. The next morning, they split the preflight responsibilities. One pilot inspected the right side of the airplane, and the other, the left side of the airplane. The fuel gauges were reportedly checked by one of the pilots, who thought the tanks were full. They subsequently departed with a passenger and reached their first destination after an estimated 30 minutes of flight. Afterwards, they departed for an estimated hour-long flight to have lunch at different location. After lunch, they took off for another airport 36 miles away to refuel, before returning the airplane back to the FBO. Ten minutes into the flight, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The attempted engine restarts were unsuccessful, the pilot in command (PIC) elected to land in a field, and the airplane nosed over before coming to a stop. The three occupants were able to exit the airplane on their own. One of the pilots subsequently stated that a "miscalculation of the amount of fuel onboard” led to the accident. The responding Federal Aviation Administration inspector stated that there was very little evidence of residual fuel, and no indiction of preexisting fuel leakage at the accident site.

Contributing factors

  • Fluid level
  • cause Flight crew

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 050/06kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.