N81383Grumman American Avn. AA-5B · 1977

On October 12, 2018, about 1304 central daylight time, a Grumman AA-5B airplane, N81383, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident while maneuvering to land at Rooke Field Airport (RFG) near Refugio, Texas. The pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

During a telephone interview with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Investigator-in-Charge (IIC), the pilot stated that the accident occurred during the first flight after an annual inspection and the installation of a Garmin 480 GPS. The pilot estimated that the airplane had about 26 gallons of fuel onboard when he departed Silver Wings Airport (TS36), Fredericksburg, Texas, for the cross-country flight to Lane Airpark (T54), Rosenburg, Texas. The pilot reported that he did not understand how to navigate using the GPS, and as a result he became lost during the flight and turned south instead of continuing to the southeast toward T54. After flying for about 1.5 hours, he became concerned about how much fuel remained and decided to land at RFG to refuel. The pilot stated that he did not maintain adequate airspeed while in the traffic pattern for runway 14L at RFG, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall during the turn from the base leg to final. The pilot did not submit a completed NTSB Accident Report Form (6120.1) during the investigation.

During a telephone interview with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airworthiness Inspector, the pilot confirmed that he became lost during the flight and that he decided to land to refuel. He selected the left fuel tank while he maneuvered to land, but the airplane had a total loss of engine power while on final approach.

A witness reported seeing the airplane wreckage in a field north of the airport as he taxied his airplane toward the approach end of runway 14L at RFG. The airplane had traveled about 100-125 ft after it impacted the ground. The accident pilot reportedly told the witness that he made a “rookie mistake” while maneuvering to land for fuel. A medical helicopter was dispatched to the site to transport the pilot to a hospital for treatment of his injuries. The witness then called the FAA to report the accident. The witness stated that the left tank did not contain any fuel, but there was fuel visible in the right tank. Neither fuel tank appeared to be damaged, and the fuel selector valve handle was positioned to the right fuel tank. The mixture control was full rich, the throttle was full forward, and the ignition key was positioned on the right magneto. The flap selector was full down.

A FAA Airworthiness Inspector stated that the airplane’s left fuel tank was empty at the accident site, and that the right fuel tank contained about 7 gallons of fuel. Less than 2 fluid ounces of combined fuel was recovered from the electric boost pump, the fuel line to the carburetor, and the carburetor fuel bowl. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and empennage during impact. A mechanic at the departure airport reported seeing about 8 gallons of fuel in each fuel tank (16 gallons total) before the flight. The airplane was not refueled before the flight because there was no fuel service at the departure airport.

Based on available radar track data, the flight likely departed TS36 about 1120. The airplane’s ground track generally continued to the southeast toward T54 until about 1155 when it turned to the south. The airplane did not reestablish a course toward T54 for the remainder of the flight. At 1302:24, the last radar return was recorded about 0.125 mile south-southwest of RFG at 350 ft mean sea level. The accident site was located about 1,300 ft north of the approach end of runway 14L at RFG.