Plane Crash List

Piper PA-28-180 N8886J

13 November 1997 · Willmar, Minnesota, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 13 November 1997 at about 23:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N8886J was involved in an accident near Willmar, Minnesota, 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 23:30
Classification
Accident
Location
Willmar, Minnesota, United States
Coordinates
45.1200, -95.0392
Aircraft
Piper PA-28-180
Registration
N8886J
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Pueblo → Unknown
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
IMC
Light
Night/Dark
NTSB number
CHI98LA036

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 0 0 0 1

Probable cause

the pilot's improper planning/decision, his continued flight into known adverse weather, and subsequent fuel exhaustion, which resulted in loss of engine power, and a forced landing. Factors related to the accident were: the adverse weather conditions, the pilot's lack of an instrument flight experience, and darkness at the time of the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed at 1100 MST. He had intended to land at Imperial, Nebraska, for fuel, but instrument weather conditions precluded him from landing. He continued to fly to his destination airport and reported there were 'no holes in the clouds' between Nebraska and Minnesota. He was flying at 11,500 feet msl. About 30 minutes from Willmar, Minnesota, he radioed a Flight Service Station and started a descent into instrument meteorological conditions. He did not possess an instrument flight rating. The pilot reported the engine lost power, but he switched fuel tanks, and the engine restarted. The engine lost power again a short time later when the airplane was about 300 feet above ground level. The pilot executed a forced landing onto a farm. The pilot reported that he 'should have just used my GPS and went in on runway 10 before I ran out of gas.'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Piper PA-28 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
18 Feb 1997 Piper PA-28
N75050
Mulege, Mexico
no coordinates
Aabas Flying Club No injuries -
14 Apr 1997 Piper PA-28-160
N5363W
Pickens, South Carolina, United States Chester D. Maynard Minor injuries -
27 Jul 1997 Piper PA-28
N2394Q
Nelson, Canada
no coordinates
California Planners and Consul Fatal 4
27 Jun 1997 Piper PA-28-140
N6306R
Leadville, Colorado, United States Michael S. Luther Minor injuries -
11 Oct 1997 Piper PA-28-181
N2938B
Leadore, Idaho, United States - Fatal 2
14 Mar 1997 Piper PA-28-161
N2914A
Sanford, Maine, United States
no coordinates
- No injuries -

All 9,402 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
29 Jun 1997 Cessna A188B
N4485Q
McGregor, Minnesota, United States - No injuries -
7 Jul 1997 Grumman-Schweizer G-164B
N6633K
Donnelly, Minnesota, United States - No injuries -
13 Jul 1997 Cessna A188B
N9746G
Aitkin, Minnesota, United States - Minor injuries -
18 Jul 1997 Weatherly 201C
N9054W
Stephen, Minnesota, United States - No injuries -
23 Jul 1997 Goble RV-4
N36JG
Rosemount, Minnesota, United States - Fatal 1
8 Aug 1997 Piper PA-28-121
N2228Z
Glencoe, Minnesota, United States - No injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States