25 May 2019: Champion 8KCAB No Series

25 May 2019: Champion 8KCAB No Series (N68557) — Unknown operator

No fatalities • Fredericksburg, TX, United States

Probable cause

A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

On May 25, 2019, about 1335 central daylight time, a Champion 8KCAB airplane, N68557, was substantially damaged during a forced landing to a field near Fredericksburg, Texas. The pilot and passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was owned and operated by a private individual. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the flight. The cross-country flight originated from Aero Country Airport (T31), McKinney, Texas, about 1105, and was en route to Boerne Stage Field Airport (5C1), San Antonio, Texas. The pilot stated that the annual inspection had just been completed on the airplane. After the completion of the maintenance, the pilot flew a test flight and stated that there were no issues or anomalies with the airplane during that flight. The pilot estimated his flight time to 5C1 at 2.5 hours and stated that the airplane had 30 gallons of fuel at the time of takeoff. The pilot reported that during cruise flight, they experienced higher-than-forecast wind and he was concerned about his fuel quantity. He diverted towards Gillespie County Airport (T82), Fredericksburg, Texas, and shortly thereafter, the engine lost power. During the forced landing the airplane collided with tree stumps and nosed over. The wings and empennage were substantially damaged. A postaccident examination revealed that both fuel tanks were empty. An examination of the engine, and fuel system revealed no mechanical anomalies that would preclude normal operations. In addition, the pilot stated that there were no suspected mechanical anomalies with the airplane or engine.

Contributing factors

  • cause Fluid management
  • Fluid level
  • Pilot
  • Effect on operation

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 320/09kt, 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.