Piper PA-34-220T N8329M

Summary

On 27 June 1999 at about 21:28 local time, a Piper PA-34-220T registered N8329M was involved in an accident near Laredo, Texas, 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

27 June 1999 at 21:28

Classification

Accident

Location

Laredo, Texas, United States

Coordinates

27.5106, -99.4990

Aircraft

Piper PA-34-220T

Registration

N8329M

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Antonio → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW99LA174

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to refuel, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. A factor was 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 descent for landing, the twin-engine airplane lost power in both engines due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot reported that during his preflight inspection, the fuel gauges were reading a little over 30 gallons on the left and about 35 gallons on the right. When the flight neared its destination, the pilot started a descent for landing. As he 'pitched' the nose down, the left gauge went to zero. A few minutes later, the right gauge went from about 20 gallons to zero, and a few seconds later, the right engine lost power, followed by the left engine. A forced landing was initiated to a nearby road; however, after observing traffic on the road, the pilot elected to land in the grass area next to the road. After touchdown, the right wing impacted a metal fence post, and the aircraft came to rest nose down in a ditch. Examination of the fuel system by an FAA inspector revealed no usable fuel in the left fuel tank, and the right fuel tank was destroyed. There was no evidence of fuel spillage at the accident site. The pilot reported that he could have prevented this accident by adding an 'extra 10 gallons' of fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.