Cirrus Design CORP SR20 accident near Danbury, Connecticut, January 23, 2013
On January 23, 2013, a 2008 Cirrus Design CORP SR20, registered N140PG, was substantially damaged in an accident during approach near Danbury, Connecticut (Danbury airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor’s inadequate preflight inspection in which he incorrectly estimated the airplane’s fuel quantity and his improper reliance on the fuel totalizer rather than the fuel quantity indicating and warning systems to determine the fuel on board, 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
- January 23, 2013
- Place
- Danbury, Connecticut · Danbury · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cirrus Design CORP SR20, built 2008
- Registration
- N140PG · no longer on the register · serial 1920
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor was conducting a two-leg, cross-country familiarization flight at night with a private pilot. The flight instructor reported that, before departure, he used a flashlight to look in the airplane's fuel tanks and determined that they contained 25 gallons of usable fuel and that the two flight legs would require 23.3 gallons of fuel. He then entered 22 gallons in the airplane's multifunction display (MFD) fuel totalizer. The airplane reached its destination airport and departed on the return flight without incident; however, shortly after takeoff, the low fuel caution light illuminated. The airplane subsequently experienced a total loss of engine power. The flight instructor deployed the airplane's parachute system, and the airplane subsequently descended into trees about 3 miles northeast of the airport. Postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation, and less than 1 gallon of fuel was drained from the fuel tanks. The president of the flight school stated that, 2 days before the accident, he had 42 gallons of fuel added to the fuel tanks. He then entered 40 gallons in the airplane's MFD fuel totalizer. He flew two more flights and estimated that the fuel totalizer should have indicated between 14 and 16 gallons before the first leg of the accident flight. Recorded MFD data showed that the total amount of fuel used since the last refueling was 42.4 gallons. The flight instructor likely overestimated the amount of fuel in the airplane before departure and entered the wrong amount into the MFD fuel totalizer, which led to an erroneous display of the actual amount of fuel remaining and his belief that the airplane had sufficient fuel for 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
- Preflight or dispatch event during prior to flight
- Fuel exhaustion during approach defining event
- Loss of engine power (total) during approach
- Miscellaneous/other during emergency descent
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during emergency descent
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Inadequate inspection
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Instructor/check pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Fuel planning › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid level
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 471 hours in all; 120 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days
- Last flight review: November 21, 2012
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 116 hours in all; 0 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,665 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 16, 2012; 90 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cont Motor IO-360-ES (piston); 1,370 hours total
- Operator: Epic Blue Co.
The flight
- Departed from: GON Groton CT at 11:45 pm
- Destination: DXR Danbury CT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26, 4,421 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 290° at 8 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 14°F (-10°C), dew point -9°F (-23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.09 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 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.