Pilot in Eastern Iowa plane crash low on fuel, NTSB report says

The pilot who crashed his small plane near The Eastern Iowa Airport last month was low on fuel and couldn't reach an airport that wasn't under fog and heavy overcast, according to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report.

Douglas Tindal suffered minor injuries when his single-engine Cessna went down in a field about 2 miles southeast of the airport the night of Jan. 17. Tindal doesn't hold a rating for instrument flying, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's Civil Aviation Registry.

Tindal, 64, of Washington, Iowa, delayed his departure from Tulsa, Okla., after a 7:30 a.m. briefing advised flying under visual flight rules (VFR) wasn't advised due to weather conditions, the NTSB report said. He took off from Tulsa about 4 p.m. without obtaining another weather briefing.

Overcast conditions prevailed at the airport Tindal had planned to stop at for refueling, so he continued to Washington, where he also found conditions allowed landing only with instruments.

Tindal diverted to the Cedar Rapids airport and requested emergency assistance. The airport tower's approach controller told Tindal the nearest airport with VFR conditions was in Minnesota, but he didn't have enough fuel to reach that airport.

Tindal told the controller he'd practiced instrument landings during review with an instructor. The controller gave him directions and the frequency of the airport's beacon.

Tindal “attempted to maintain the glideslope, but he became confused by the glideslope needle” and came down short of the airport, the report said.

Tindal used his cell phone to guide sheriff's deputies to the scene. His plane sustained “substantial damage” to its fuselage and wings.

The NTSB report:

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20100118X21319&ntsbno=CEN10CA100&akey=1