Piper PA-24-250 N7985P
19 September 1991 · Arco, Idaho, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 19 September 1991 at about 18:15 local time, a Piper PA-24-250 registered N7985P, operated by Robert D. Bowman, was involved in an accident near Arco, Idaho, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 18:15
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Arco, Idaho, United States
- Coordinates
- 43.6494, -113.2791
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24-250
- Registration
- N7985P
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Robert D. Bowman
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Cold Meadows → Arco-Butte
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- SEA91LA247
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
WATER IN THE FUEL TANK AND THE INABILITY OF THE PILOT TO FLARE FOR LANDING AFTER MANEUVERING TO AVOID TRANSMISSION LINES IN HIS FLIGHT PATH DURING THE FORCED LANDING.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
THE AIRCRAFT WAS PARKED ON A SLOPE LEFT WING LOW AND HAD BEEN EXPOSED TO RAIN PRIOR TO THE FLT. THE PLT SUMPED ALL 4 FUEL TANKS AND THEN VISUALLY DETERMINED THAT HE HAD SUFFICIENT FUEL FOR THE 1 HOUR FLT TO DESTINATION. AFTER DEPARTING ON THE RIGHT MAIN TANK AND BRIEFLY USING BOTH AUX TANKS AND APPROXIMATELY 30 MINUTES INTO THE FLT HE SWITCHED TO THE LEFT MAIN TANK AND THE ENGINE BEGAN MISSING. BELIEVING THAT HE HAD NO FUEL IN THE LEFT TANK HE SWITCHED TO THE LEFT AUX WHICH HE EXHAUSTED AND BACK TO RIGHT MAIN WHICH WAS ALSO EXHAUSTED. AFTER A TOTAL OF 55 MINUTES OF FLT AND WHILE APPROACHING HIS DESTINATION HE WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN POWER ON THE RIGHT AUX AND EXECUTED A FORCED LDG. DURING THE APPROACH HE DETERMINED THAT POWER LINES INTERFERED WITH HIS LANDING AND MANEUVERED TO AN ALTERNATE LDG SITE. THIS MANEUVER RESULTED IN THE PILOT'S INABILITY TO SAFELY FLARE DUE TO SINK RATE AND LOW AIRSPEED AND A HARD LDG FOLLOWED. A TOTAL OF 5 GALLONS OF FUEL WAS DRAINED FROM THE LEFT MAIN TANK SUBSEQUENT TO THE FORCED LDG.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-24 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Oct 1991 | Piper PA-24-250 | Ellicott, Colorado, United States | Southwest Aircraft Recovery | Minor injuries | - |
| 3 Feb 1991 | Piper PA-24-260 | Cordele, Georgia, United States | Carter, Richard C. | Fatal | 3 |
| 30 Mar 1991 | Piper PA-24-250 | Franklin, Tennessee, United States | Hannasch, Thomas P. | Fatal | 1 |
| 12 Nov 1991 | Piper PA-24-260 | Charles City, Iowa, United States | Culbert Aeronautics | No injuries | - |
| 1 Dec 1991 | Piper PA-24-180 | Sandston, Virginia, United States | Michael Kroll | Serious injuries | - |
| 15 Sep 1991 | Piper PA-24-260 | Tehachapi, California, United States | James W. Hager | No injuries | - |
All 2,700 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Apr 1991 | Cessna 172H | Coeur D'alene, Idaho, United States | Charles S. Parnell | Serious injuries | - |
| 19 Apr 1991 | Luscombe 8A | Clark Fork, Idaho, United States | Paul F. Clock | No injuries | - |
| 14 May 1991 | Grumman G-164A | Lapwai, Idaho, United States | Schumacher Agri-Flite, Inc | Serious injuries | - |
| 2 Jun 1991 | Cessna C-182A | Buhl, Idaho, United States | Ivan A. Schroeder | No injuries | - |
| 22 Jun 1991 | Cessna 180G | Challis, Idaho, United States | Maxl Willis | Minor injuries | - |
| 1 Jul 1991 | Let L-13 | Driggs, Idaho, United States | James Ball & Eric Soyland | No injuries | - |