Lake LA-4-200 accident near Logan, West Virginia, July 22, 2000
On July 22, 2000 at about 6:50 pm local time, a Lake LA-4-200, registered N12SF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Logan, West Virginia (Logan County 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
Fuel exhaustion of the engine due to improper fuel consumption calculations performed by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 22, 2000 · about 6:50 pm local time
- Place
- Logan, West Virginia · Logan County Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Lake LA-4-200 · all LA-4-200s on the register
- Registration
- N12SF · registry record · serial 814
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot departed at 1130 for a cross-country flight with 40 gallons of fuel on board. He anticipated that the flight would take 3 hours, and he had 4 hours of fuel on board. During the flight, the pilot had to divert around his planned route for inclement weather. When he was about 1 mile from the airport, he entered the downwind leg of the traffic pattern and the engine lost power. The pilot determined he could not make it to the runway and landed on an adjacent road, at 1450. The pilot reported that the fuel gauge read empty while on the approach. Examination of the airplane revealed the fuel tank was completely dry. In addition, no fuel was found in the fuel lines or the fuel flow divider. When 4 gallons of fuel was added to the airplane, the engine started without hesitation and ran continuously.
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; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 790 hours in all; 688 in this make and model; 684 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,486 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 2, 1999; 76 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,690 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AIK Aiken SC at 3:30 pm
- Destination: 6L4
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 6, 3,600 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:51 pm from BKW, 38 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number NYC00LA205.