Grumman AA1 accident near Portland, TN
On August 30, 2017, a Grumman AA1 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Portland, TN. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 30, 2017
- Place
- Portland, TN
- Aircraft
- Grumman AA1 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 36.585°N, 86.478°W
- NTSB ID
- 20170829X15006
Official records · ERA17FA299
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 29, 2017, about 1920 central daylight time, a Grumman AA-1B, N8866L, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain while approaching Portland Municipal Airport (1M5), Portland, Tennessee. The private pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot in accordance with the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight. The flight originated from 1M5 about 1831. A student pilot, who was the pilot's grandson, flew the airplane 2 days before the accident flight. The student pilot stated that he completely fueled the airplane that day and then flew to Gallatin, Tennessee, to pick up his flight instructor for training. They flew for about 1.4 hours that day. The student pilot stated that the pilot did not purchase fuel before his accident flight, and no one else flew the airplane between the two flights. Several witnesses reported seeing the airplane as it flew "low" shortly before the accident. They generally described that after it contacted the treetops it impacted the ground in a nose-down attitude. A Garmin 196 GPS was recovered from the wreckage and sent to the National Transportation Safety Board Vehicle Recorders Laboratory for data download. Review of the data revealed that the airplane departed 1M5, flew south, and circled the city of Gallatin, Tennessee, before returning to 1M5. The last recorded position was about 0.5 miles south of the threshold of runway 1. According to the d
Probable cause
The pilot's improper fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
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Browse: Tennessee · Grumman aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
