ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 176327
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Tuesday 6 April 2004 |
| Time: | 00:07 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-24-250 |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N5844P |
| MSN: | 24-925 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2267 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-540 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Overland Park, KS -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Executive |
| Departure airport: | Napoleon, OH (7W5) |
| Olathe, KS (IXD) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The airplane sustained substantial damage during a forced landing at night after a loss of engine power. The pilot reported that he had flown from IXD to 7W5, a distance of 519 nautical miles, earlier in the day and that the flight had taken 3 hours and 20 minutes to complete. The airplane was topped off with fuel and the fuel receipt indicated that 38.56 gallons were added. The airplane's fuel tanks held 60 gallons total fuel with 54 gallons useable. The pilot reported that he calculated that the airplane used approximately 12 gallons of fuel per hour. The return flight departed at 2020 cdt and the pilot reported that the engine started running rough at 3 hours and 28 minutes into the flight. He switched the fuel boost pump on and switched the fuel selector from the right to left fuel tank. The pilot reported, "At approximately 2 minutes of running on the left tank the engine started running rough and failed." The pilot executed a forced landing to a grassy area adjacent to a well-lighted street. During the landing rollout, the airplane's wing struck a tree branch. The inspection of the fuel tanks revealed the fuel tanks were dry. The passenger reported that the "first tank ran dry roughly 40 miles from our destination…" and "there were two airports only a couple of miles in front of us. I suggested to him that we land and refuel at one of the airports…" The pilot told the passenger there was enough fuel remaining to land at the destination airport. The pilot had a total of 3,605 flight hours with 10 flight hours in make and model. The passenger reported that the GPS indicated that there was a slight right-quartering headwind of 7 - 10 knots, and it showed an average groundspeed of 130 - 135 knots. The airplane impacted the terrain about 0007 cdt, approximately 3.8 hours after departure. The airplane's Owner's Handbook indicated that the fuel consumption at 75% power at 6,000 feet pressure altitude is 14.1 gph.
Probable Cause: The pilot's inadequate fuel calculations and the pilot's improper in-flight decision which resulted in fuel exhaustion. Contributing factors were the trees and the night conditions.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20040414X00462&key=1
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 12 May 1985 | N5844P | Private | 0 | Savannah, GA | |
sub |
| 2 January 2022 | N5844P | Private | 0 | Grand Forks, North Dakota | |
sub |
| Gear-up landing | ||||||
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 23-May-2015 18:56 | Noro | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:30 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 07-Dec-2017 17:53 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation