Piper PA-34-200T N424WA

Summary

On 7 January 1996 at about 22:12 local time, a Piper PA-34-200T registered N424WA was involved in an accident near Gulfport, Mississippi, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 January 1996 at 22:12

Classification

Accident

Location

Gulfport, Mississippi, United States

Nearest airport

Gulfport Biloxi Regional (GPT)

Coordinates

30.4696, -89.1497

Aircraft

Piper PA-34-200T

Registration

N424WA

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St Petersburg → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL96LA030

4 people had minor injuries.

inadequate preflight planning/preparation by the pilot, and inadequate supply of fuel in the airplane, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and subsequent ditching at sea.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the preflight planning, the pilot estimated that the flight would require 67 gallons of fuel. He added 20 gallons of fuel to the aircraft fuel system and estimated that 85 gallons of fuel were on board at takeoff. He did not report that the airplane was topped off with fuel before departing. Approximately three hours into the flight, both engines lost power about two miles south of the shore line; the airplane was ditched about 1-1/4 mile south of the shore. No fuel was found in the fuel system after the airplane was recovered from the water; the fuel system was intact during the examination

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.