Amateur-built STARDUSTER TOO accident near Locust Grove, Georgia, July 24, 1991
On July 24, 1991 at about 8:00 pm local time, a amateur-built STARDUSTER TOO, registered N3263, was substantially damaged in an accident near Locust Grove, Georgia. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FUEL EXHAUSTION WHICH RESULTED FROM THE FAILURE OF THE PILOTS TO REFUEL THE AIRPLANE. A FACTOR WAS THE LOCAL PILOT'S HAVING BECOME LOST.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 24, 1991 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Locust Grove, Georgia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built STARDUSTER TOO STARDUSTER
- Registration
- N3263 · no longer on the register · serial 001
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
TWO FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, ONE LOCAL & ONE FROM CALIFORNIA, WERE PRACTICING LANDINGS. INSTRUMENTS WERE IN REAR COCKPIT. REAR PILOT NOTED FUEL INDICATION WAS EMPTY. FUEL WAS NOT AVAILABLE AT FBO ON PRACTICE AIRPORT. FUEL TANK WAS DIPPED & FRONT SEAT PILOT BELIEVED FUEL WAS SUFFICIENT TO REACH HOME AIRPORT ABOUT 8 MINUTES AWAY. EN ROUTE, VISIBILITY DECREASED. UPON REACHING INTERSTATE HIGHWAY, HEADING WAS ALTERED AWAY FROM HOME AIRPORT. AFTER A FEW MILES, MISTAKE WAS RECOGNIZED & COURSE REVERSED. THE ENGINE QUIT ABOUT 3 MILES FROM THE AIRPORT. ACFT EXAMINATION REVEALED ONLY RESIDUAL FUEL IN THE GASCOLATOR & NONE IN THE LINE BETWEEN THE GASCOLATOR & THE CARBURETOR.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,600 hours in all; 7 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 1,500 as pilot in command; 800 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 273 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 6, 1991; 8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Jacobs L4MB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 4A7 Hampton GA at 4:00 am
- Destination: GA04 Mallard'S Ldg. GA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:50 pm from ATL, 24 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.