Piper PA-28-151 N8478F

Summary

On 27 January 1997 at about 00:25 local time, a Piper PA-28-151 registered N8478F, operated by Southwind Aviation Academy, was involved in an accident near Brownsville, Texas, 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.

Date

27 January 1997 at 00:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Brownsville, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Brownsville (BRO)

Coordinates

25.9193, -97.4798

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-151

Registration

N8478F

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Southwind Aviation Academy

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Waco → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

FTW97LA090

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to refuel the airplane which led to fuel exhaustion and subsequent loss of engine power. Factors were the pilot's lack of preflight planning and the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the landing approach, the airplane was about 1 mile from the runway threshold at an altitude of 500 feet AGL when the engine lost power. Total flight time was 4 hours and 18 minutes. The chief flight instructor found that the fuel tanks were intact with no fuel in the tanks or the gascolator. The assistant director of maintenance inspected the engine and the fuel system and found no discrepancies. The operator reported that the student was unable to produce any flight planning or fuel planning for the return flight. An ATC controller stated that the pilot had terminated flight following prior to maneuvering for approximately 15 minutes before proceeding to the destination airport. En route winds aloft were 150 degrees at 14 knots. The operator conducted a test flight in the make and model of airplane along the flight route with a headwind of 3 knots and the fuel used was 38.4 gallons (total usable fuel 46 gallons). The operator stated that 13 knot headwinds and 15 minutes of flight maneuvering would have deplete the remaining fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.