Piper PA-28R-180 N3250R

Summary

On 13 October 1995 at about 19:37 local time, a Piper PA-28R-180 registered N3250R was involved in an accident near Covington, Georgia, United States. 4 people were 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.

Date

13 October 1995 at 19:37

Classification

Accident

Location

Covington, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Covington Municipal (9A1)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Piper PA-28R-180

Registration

N3250R

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Clearwater → Atlanta

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA96LA008

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to divert to an alternate airport after recognizing a low fuel state existed and his delay to declare an emergency with ATC. Contributing to the accident was the unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight departed with less than full fuel due to weight and balance considerations. En route, the pilot recognized a fuel shortage condition existed while the flight was near an airport with an ILS approach. The flight continued, and the pilot advised that the frequency congestion increased and ATC control was transferred to several sectors. The pilot then declared minimum fuel to the controller after he was advised that the flight was 50 miles from the planned destination. The controller vectored the flight to a nearby airport with an instrument approach, and while descending toward that airport, the engine sputtered momentarily then regained power when the fuel selector was positioned to the opposite tank. The pilot then declared an emergency and the flight was vectored direct toward the airport. After descending below the base of the clouds, the engine again sputtered. The pilot landed the airplane in a field with uneven terrain. It collided with an elevated gravel road, separating the nose gear, and became airborne. The airplane touched down again and the left main landing gear collapsed. Postcrash examination revealed that the fuel selector was positioned to the right fuel tank which was found to contain 3.5 gallons of fuel. The left wing fuel tank was empty.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.