Fuel Mismanagement Accidents

Pilots must “demonstrate mastery of the aircraft with the successful outcome of each task….”

--FAA PRACTICAL TEST STANDARDS

Note: Research and commentary for page is still under development. As of April 29, 2007, data has been collected for mishaps in the date range identified below. Additional commentary and recommendations, will follow. Check this page occasionally for updates.

For additional information on fuel management see the AOPA Air Safety Foundation Fuel Awareness Safety Advisor.

Fuel Starvation/Fuel Exhaustion Mishaps January 1, 2000 - Dec 31, 2005

Beechcraft Bonanza/Debonair/Travel Air/Baron/Duke

All data comes from National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) "probable cause" reports.

Total fuel mismanagement accidents Fuel starvation and fuel exhaustion reports.

There were 54 reported fuel mismanagement accidents during this time period.
Of those 54 reports, 41 were fuel starvation and 13 were fuel exhaustion.

Accidents	SEL	MEL	Total
Total	46	8	54

Most serious injury		Aircraft damage
Fatal	14	Destroyed	15
Serious	11	Substantial	39
Minor	7	Minor	0
None	22	None	0

Fuel starvation accidents: When fuel is available on the airplane, but for some reason is not making it to the engine(s).

There were 41 reports of fuel starvation accidents during this time period.
Most common contributing factors are identified in the table below:

Fuel starvation factors		41	total reports
Reports	Contributing factor
14	Ran fuel tank dry (intentionally or not) and engine would not restart after switching tanks
10	Ran fuel tank dry (intentionally or not) and used improper restart procedure
8	Improper fuel tank selection for phase or operation of flight
2	Switched fuel tanks in the traffic pattern, resulting in fuel starvation
3	Attempted landing with auxiliary fuel tank(s) selected
2	Attempted takeoff with auxiliary fuel tank(s) selected
1	Inadvertent mixture cutoff

Fuel exhaustion accidents: Running completely out of fuel.

There were 13 reports of fuel exhaustion accidents during this time period.
Most common contributing factors are identified in the table below:

Fuel exhaustion factors		13	total reports
Reports	Contributing factor
8	Attempted flight beyond fueled range of the aircraft
2	Pilot did not visually confirm fuel level before flight
2	Flew multiple missed approaches in low fuel state without diverting
1	Knowingly overflew usable airports in low fuel state

Single-engine vs. Twin-Engine airplanes

Bonanza/Debonair

There were 46 reports of fuel mismanagement accidents during this period.
Outcomes and factors are listed in the tables below:

Most serious injury		Aircraft damage
Fatal	14	Destroyed	15
Serious	11	Substantial	39
Minor	7	Minor	0
None	22	None	0

36 of these reports resulted from fuel starvation, with cause factors as listed below:

Fuel starvation factors		36	total reports
Reports	Contributing factor
14	Ran fuel tank dry (intentionally or not) and engine would not restart after switching tanks
10	Ran fuel tank dry (intentionally or not) and used improper restart procedure
7	Improper fuel tank selection for phase or operation of flight
2	Attempted landing with auxiliary fuel tank(s) selected
1	Switched fuel tanks in the traffic pattern, resulting in fuel starvation
1	Inadvertent mixture cutoff

10 of these reports involved fuel exhaustion, with contributing factors as listed below:

Fuel exhaustion factors		10	total reports
Reports	Contributing factor
6	Attempted flight beyond fueled range of the aircraft
2	Pilot did not visually confirm fuel level before flight
2	Flew multiple missed approaches in low fuel state without diverting

Baron/Travel Air/Duke

There were 8 reports of fuel mismanagement accidents during this time period.
Outcomes and factors are listed in the tables below:

Most serious injury		Aircraft damage
Fatal	3	Destroyed	3
Serious	1	Substantial	5
Minor	1	Minor	0
None	3	None	0

Of these, 5 results from fuel starvation with contributing factors as listed below:

Fuel starvation factors		5	total reports
Reports	Contributing factor
2	Attempted takeoff with auxiliary fuel tank(s) selected
1	Improper fuel tank selection for phase or operation of flight
1	Switched fuel tanks in the traffic pattern, resulting in fuel starvation
1	Attempted landing with auxiliary fuel tank(s) selected

3 of these reports involved fuel exhaustion with factors as listed below:

Fuel exhaustion factors		3	total reports
Reports	Contributing factor
2	Attempted flight beyond fueled range of the aircraft
1	Knowingly overflew usable airports in low fuel state

Check back for updates and analysis. Fuel up, fly safe and have fun!

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