Piper PA-24-250 N6495P

Summary

On 13 January 1997 at about 02:15 local time, a Piper PA-24-250 registered N6495P was involved in an accident near Franklin, Minnesota, United States. 3 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 January 1997 at 02:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Franklin, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

44.7395, -94.7102

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-250

Registration

N6495P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sheridan → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Bright

NTSB number

CHI97LA052

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate inflight planning and his fuel mismanagement, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and the loss of engine power. A contributing factor with this accident was a frost blocked cockpit windshield.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During cruise flight on a bright night the pilot said the airplane '...experienced a noticeable drop in manifold pressure... the engine lost power and began to backfire... different power settings didn't help.' The pilot said the inside of the airplane's windshield frosted up after the engine lost power. He said he used the side window and landing lights as an aid for landing. According to the pilot he decided to land in a field next to the road on which he was going to land because of powerlines. The on-scene investigation revealed no fuel in the fuel tanks or electric fuel pump. The engine was test run to the manufacturer's specifications once fuel was added to the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.