NTSB: Empty left fuel tank may have led to March 18 crash at Tallgrass

Safety regulators said the March 18 crash of a single-engine Mooney onto the Tallgrass Country Club golf course may have been caused by an empty fuel tank.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report on Friday that the airplane — piloted by a 17-year-old with an 18 -year-old passenger on board — was on a downwind landing at Jabara Airport when the airplane’s engine lost power.

“A Federal Aviation Administration inspector who examined the airplane reported finding no fuel in the left fuel tank,” the NTSB report said. “The fuel selector was positioned on the left tank. Some fuel was noted in the right fuel tank. The auxiliary fuel pump switch was off.”

The pilot and passenger received minor injuries in the crash, according to the report, and the Mooney M20C “was substantially damaged.”

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 11:15 AM with the headline "NTSB: Empty left fuel tank may have led to March 18 crash at Tallgrass."