Amateur-built Cuby Acro Trainer accident near Canutillo, Texas, October 4, 2003
On October 4, 2003 at about 7:52 pm local time, a amateur-built Cuby Acro Trainer, registered N300HS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Canutillo, Texas. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 refuel the airplane, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. A contributing factor was the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning and decision making.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 4, 2003 · about 7:52 pm local time
- Place
- Canutillo, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Cuby Acro Trainer
- Registration
- N300HS · registry record · serial PRICE 3
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After a previous flight that morning, the pilot refueled the airplane with 29 gallons of fuel. During cruise flight, he decided not to stop at his original fuel stop and he continued on to his final destination. Approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes into the flight, at 6,500 feet msl, the engine "suddenly lost power," and he initiated a forced landing to a nearby gravel road. During the landing roll, he noticed some children directly in front of the aircraft and applied maximum brakes to avoid them. Subsequently, the airplane nosed-over and came to rest on its nose. The pilot reported the airplane ran out of fuel. No performance data besides that recorded from the previous owner/builder of the airplane were available.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 800 hours in all; 800 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200; 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 18AZ Carefree AZ
- Destination: ELP El Paso TX
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from ELP
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.