Scottish Aviation SERIES 100 MDL 101 accident near Wichita, Kansas, September 22, 2016
On September 22, 2016 at about 3:55 pm local time, a 1972 Scottish Aviation SERIES 100 MDL 101, registered N432BD, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Wichita, Kansas (Col. James Jabara airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s improper preflight inspection during which he relied on the fuel totalizer and failed to ensure that sufficient fuel was onboard for the flight, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 22, 2016 · about 3:55 pm local time · cases in 2016
- Place
- Wichita, Kansas · Col. James Jabara · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Scottish Aviation SERIES 100 MDL 101, built 1972 · all SERIES 100 MDL 101s on the register
- Registration
- N432BD · no longer on the register · serial 163
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private pilot reported that the engine "sputtered and went to idle" during cruise flight while returning to the departure airport after a local flight. His attempts to restore engine power were not successful. The pilot subsequently conducted a forced landing, during which the airplane impacted a fence and sustained substantial damage. During postaccident examination, the fuel totalizer indicated that 7.3 gallons of fuel remained; however, only about 1.5 gallons of fuel was recovered from the airplane. After fuel was added to each tank, an engine run was conducted, and the engine ran smoothly at idle and about 1,000 rpm, and no anomalies were noted. The pilot reported that the airplane fuel gauges were unreliable, so he used the fuel totalizer for fuel quantity information. However, the totalizer's operating instructions stated that the instrument does not provide a measurement of the fuel in the tanks and that it "should never be used as the primary indicator of the fuel quantity." The pilot should not have used the totalizer to determine the amount of fuel onboard the airplane and his reliance on the instrument without ensuring that sufficient fuel was on board for the flight led to fuel exhaustion and a total 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
What happened, in order
- Fuel exhaustion during enroute defining event
- Loss of engine power (total) during enroute
- Off-field or emergency landing during emergency descent
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Inspection › Preflight inspection › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid level other cases naming the fuel system
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Fence/fence post › Contributed to outcome
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 108 hours in all; 5 in this make and model; 2 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 65 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 27, 2016
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,370 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, March 10, 2016; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1B6 (piston); 3,524 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3AU Augusta Muni KS at 3:40 pm
- Destination: 3AU Augusta Muni KS
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:54 pm from AAO, 2 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
7 documents, released by the NTSB on June 16, 2017. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Witness Statements | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 3 | FAA Inspector Statements | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Photo of Fuel Totalizer (FAA Photo) | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | Fuel Totalizer Operating Instructions -- Excerpts | PDF, 8 pages | View Download |
| 6 | FAA Regulation -- Equipment Requirements (14 CFR 91.205) | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 7 | Weather Documentation | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N432BD: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Scottish Aviation SERIES 100 19 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Scottish Aviation 54 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1B6 141 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Colonel James Jabara Airport · nearest airport
- Augusta Municipal · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Kansas 1,147 since 1982 · 149 in the last ten years
- Kansas 5,753 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CEN16LA381.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.