Amateur-built POBER SUPER ACE accident near Lebanon, Tennessee, September 27, 1997
On September 27, 1997 at about 7:30 pm local time, a amateur-built POBER SUPER ACE, registered N54JT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lebanon, Tennessee (Lebanon Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to follow normal checklist procedures that resulted in fuel starvation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 27, 1997 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Lebanon, Tennessee · Lebanon Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built POBER SUPER ACE POBER SUPE
- Registration
- N54JT · registry record · serial 22A
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot estimated that the airplane had 16 gallons of low lead aviation fuel in the tanks at takeoff. After takeoff the pilot switched the fuel selector from the fuselage tank to the wing tank. After 30 minutes of flight the pilot returned to the airport and entered the traffic pattern for landing. About 200 feet above the ground, while on final approach to land, the engine quit. Efforts to restart the engine were unsuccessful. The airplane collided with a tree short of the active runway. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane. Normal operational procedures for takeoff and landing require that the fuel selector be placed in the fuselage/front tank position. The pilot stated that he had not switched the fuel selector to the fuller fuel tank, fuselage/front tank, prior to the loss of engine power.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine
- Flight time: 8,000 hours in all; 130 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 130 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 1, 1997; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,100 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-C1C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: M54 at 7:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 4, 2,500 ft by 200 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 14,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from BNA, 35 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.