Temco D-16A accident near Heber, California, February 16, 2013
On February 16, 2013, a Temco D-16A, registered N716T, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Heber, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A loss of engine power during cruise flight due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inadequate preflight and fuel planning.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 16, 2013
- Place
- Heber, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Temco D-16A · all D-16As on the register
- Registration
- N716T · registry record · serial TTN-84
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot departed for what he anticipated would be a 1-hour cross-country flight. The airplane's two engines were supplied with fuel from a single main tank that he said contained 42 gallons at departure; however, he did not check the fuel quantity during his preflight inspection.. The pilot estimated the airplane burned 20 gallons of fuel per hour. As he neared his destination, both engines simultaneously stopped producing power. He turned on both fuel boost pumps, and both engines restarted. After about 1 minute, they shut down once again. He performed a forced landing to a muddy field. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no fuel in the airplane's main fuel tank and no indications of fuel leaks. The airplane had just received an annual inspection. Fuel records indicated that 20 gallons were added to the airplane's main fuel tank 13 days before the annual inspection was signed off. The accident flight was the first flight since the annual inspection, and the airplane's hour meter reading at the time of the accident indicated it had been flown 1.5 hours since the inspection was completed. The pilot said that he encountered a 30-knot headwind on the flight and that he had mistakenly programmed his GPS for the VORTAC, which was about 7 nautical miles past his destination airport. Regardless, had the pilot performed an adequate preflight inspection of the main fuel tank and adequate preflight calculations, he would have likely determined before departure that there was inadequate fuel to reach his destination.
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
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid level
- factor Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Fuel planning › Pilot
- factor Personnel issues › Task performance › Inspection › Preflight inspection › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 7,700 hours in all; 750 in this make and model; 10 in the last 30 days; 7,700 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: November 15, 2012
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,000 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 12, 2013
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CNO Chino CA at 11:00 pm
- Destination: IPL Imperial CA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.15 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from IPL, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 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 WPR13LA125.