Overall Trends
Total, fatal, and serious accidents in the selected range.
Search investigations, review source evidence, monitor watched reports, and trace long-term patterns from one calm, data-first workspace.
Fast key and full-text search with live filters, watches, and precise metadata.
Use quotes for exact phrase matches (for example "fuel selector valve").
Track fatal and non-fatal accident patterns across Part 91, Part 135, and Part 121 operations.
Major cases, deep-report coverage, and investigation media across decades of NTSB history.
Move quickly by aircraft, airport, operator, and time with indexes built for research, not wandering.
NTSB Reports is an independent research and search tool for public aviation accident and incident records. It brings NTSB aviation reports, structured fields, docket files, extracted figures, photos, videos, and update history into one searchable interface.
The goal is practical safety education: make it faster to find relevant investigations, compare similar events, review factual records, and understand the evidence behind probable-cause and preliminary reports.
The investigative work and source records belong to the National Transportation Safety Board and the published investigation record. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NTSB.
Edgewood, NM
The pilot departed the morning of the accident with an estimated 16 gallons of fuel on board. Due to headwinds, the flight duration was slightly longer than anticipated. For the afternoon return flight, the pilot diverted to the west of his route due to overcast conditions, again, extending the duration of the flight. Approximately 7 miles west of his destination, the engine lost power and the pilot made a forced landing on a snow covered field. The pilot was unable to stop the airplane prior to impacting a fence causing substantial damage. According to the FAA inspector at the scene, the fuel tanks were empty and no fuel was present in the carburetor.
the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning and decision making. Factors contributing to the accident include the resulting fuel exhaustion, the snow covered field and the fence.
On December 22, 2003 at 1710 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-12, N4159M was substantially damaged when it impacted a fence during a forced landing 7 miles west of Sandia Airpark (1N1), Edgewood, New Mexico. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from Los Alamos Airport (LAM), Los Alamos, New Mexico, at 1630. According to the accident report submitted by the pilot, he departed 1N1 for LAM (30 minutes of flight time) the morning of the accident with an estimated 16 gallons of fuel on board. Due to headwinds, the flight duration was closer to .7 hours. For the afternoon return flight to 1N1, the pilot diverted to the west of Santa Fe, New Mexico, due to overcast conditions. Approximately 7 miles west of 1N1, the engine lost power. The pilot reported that the ground was covered with approximately 1 1/2 inches of snow. During the forced landing, the pilot was unable to stop the airplane prior to impacting a fence. The left wing tip was crushed, the left landing gear collapsed in and back towards the fuselage, the top portion of the fuselage between the wings was crushed and the propeller was bent. According to the FAA inspector at the scene, the fuel tanks were empty and no fuel was present in the carburetor. An examination of the airplane systems revealed no anomalies. The pilot reported that due to the angle of the airplane while sitting on the ramp and the position of the fuel gauge floats, it was not possible to verify the amount of fuel in the tanks.