Amateur-built SKYBOLT accident near Sarasota, Florida, December 19, 2012
On December 19, 2012 at about 7:20 pm local time, a amateur-built SKYBOLT, registered N328GW, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Sarasota, Florida. 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 inadequate preflight planning and failure to monitor the fuel quantity during flight, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 19, 2012 · about 7:20 pm local time
- Place
- Sarasota, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SKYBOLT
- Registration
- N328GW · no longer on the register · serial 57
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
About 1 month before the accident flight, the pilot added about 17 gallons of fuel to the airplane's bottom fuel tank. About 25 minutes into the accident flight, the engine experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot ditched the airplane in the Gulf of Mexico, and it sank. A postaccident examination of the wreckage after recovery revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The examination also revealed that the fuel tank contained 4 gallons of seawater and no fuel and that the fuel system had only trace amounts of fuel at the gascolator. According to the pilot and local authorities, no evidence of fuel leakage was found in the water. According to fuel records and the pilot's statement, it is likely that the airplane had a total of about 23 gallons of fuel on board at the last refueling; however, 6 gallons of the fuel were in the top tank and used during taxi and run-up operations. Therefore, considering the airplane's lowest fuel consumption rate of about 7.2 gallons per hour, the airplane would have been able to operate for 3.2 total hours. At the time of the accident, it had flown a total of 3.3 flight hours. Therefore, the pilot began the flight with an insufficient amount of fuel and did not monitor its quantity during the flight.
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 (cruise) defining event
- Loss of engine power (total) during enroute (cruise)
- Off-field or emergency landing during emergency descent
- Ditching during emergency descent
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Inspection › Preflight inspection › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Fuel planning › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid level
- cause Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid management
- cause Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Inadequate inspection
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 510 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 510 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 1, 2011
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 183 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 16, 2012
- Maximum gross weight: 1,409 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO 360-C1C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: VNC Venice FL at 6:55 pm
- Destination: VNC Venice FL
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 pm from SRQ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.