WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and SportsNTSB reports low fuel as cause of most small plane crashes
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DES MOINES (WKOW) -- Aviation officials with the National Transportation Safety Board say the simplest way to prevent a small plane crash is fill up the gas tank.
The NTSB says running out of fuel has been a cause or factor in 238 small plane crashes in the past five years, including a crash in Northeastern Iowa that killed three men from south central Wisconsin.
Between 2004 and 2008, there were 8,016 crashes by civilian planes, according to the NTSB. That category excludes commercial flights and military aviation.
75 percent of those crashes were blamed on pilot errors that killed 2,640 people on board.
While the NTSB reports flying in bad weather is a common error, the director says running on gas is "way at the top."
Online reporting by Thomas Strieker.
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