Piper PA-12 N78583

Summary

On 19 August 1998 at about 18:00 local time, a Piper PA-12 registered N78583 was involved in an accident near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 August 1998 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

N.myrtle Beach Airport (CRE)

Coordinates

33.6898, -78.8898

Aircraft

Piper PA-12

Registration

N78583

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL98LA116

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning of fuel required for the flight that resulted in fuel exhaustion and the total loss of engine power. A factor was the pilot continued flight operation with known deficiencies in equipment.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The day before the accident, the pilot reported an unspecified vibration in the engine during the flight of that day. On the day of the accident, the pilot reported that after the initial takeoff he experienced engine vibrations and was not comfortable about the first banner pickup of the morning. He decided to fly to a holding area to resolve the vibration problem. After about three minutes, the pilot returned and picked up the banner. After flying approximately five hours, the pilot reported what he described as a low frequency vibration in the engine. Moments later, the engine lost power, and the pilot was no longer able to maintain flight. The pilot elected to ditch the airplane. During the examination of the airplane, approximately one ounce of fuel was drained from the fuel line that connects to the left fuel tank. Examination of the fuel system failed to disclose breaches or leaks. The airplane was topped off with 38 gallons of fuel before the pilot departed. The normal fuel consumption for this airplane was approximately eight gallons per hour. The pilot stated that he 'may have run out of fuel.'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.