NORTH PLATTE, NE, USA
N8509R
Bellanca 14-19
The pilot received a weather briefing prior to departing Oshkosh which forecast possible severe weather over western Nebraska. He then departed for North Platte to spend the night with relatives where he could assess the weather for the remainder of the flight. He reported his ground speed increased during the flight; however, he was concerned about fuel. The pilot continued the flight to his destination, and as he began to set up for the landing approach, the engine 'quit because of no fuel.' The pilot switched tanks and was able to get the engine to run momentarily prior to it losing power again. During the dark night forced landing, the airplane contacted the ground, bounced, struck the ground and came to rest.
On August 2, 1999, at 0059 central daylight time, a Bellanca 14- 19, N8509R, collided with the terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power approximately 4 miles north of North Platte, Nebraska. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, at 1955 cdt. The pilot reported he received a weather briefing prior to departing Oshkosh which forecast possible severe weather over western Nebraska. He reported he decided to leave immediately and fly to North Platte to spend the night with relatives where he could assess the weather for the remainder of the flight. He reported his ground speed increased during the flight; however, he was "...concerned about fuel..." so while en route, he checked the weather at Grand Island and North Platte. The pilot reported he continued the flight to his destination and as he began to set up for the landing approach "...the engine quit because of no fuel. I switched to the other main tank and tried a restart with no response, then switched to aux and tried again this time it caught and ran for less than 1 minute and quit again... ." The pilot reported he lowered the landing gear to slow the airplane. The airplane contacted the ground and bounced "...at least once, struck the ground and came to rest after about a 90 degree slide to the left."
The pilot's improper inflight planning decision which resulted in fuel exhaustion. A factor associated with the accident was the dark night conditions.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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