Piper PA-28-180 N8955J

Summary

On 11 July 2001 at about 05:15 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N8955J was involved in an accident near West Lafayette, Indiana, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 July 2001 at 05:15

Classification

Accident

Location

West Lafayette, Indiana, United States

Coordinates

40.4678, -86.9467

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N8955J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mount Comfort → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CHI01FA204

1 person died.

The fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's alcohol impaired decision making. Additional factors were the trees and night.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane sustained substantial damage when it impacted a field and trees during a forced landing after a loss of engine power. Witnesses reported the pilot departed on an unscheduled flight about 2115. The airplane was observed flying at least one full stop landing before doing a low approach, and then departing the pattern. A hand-held aviation Garmin GPS III was found in the "ON" position at the site of the accident. The recorded track data indicated the airplane flew north and flew over or near five airports. The track data indicated about 2 hours and 18 minutes elapsed during the portion of the flight recorded by the GPS. A witness near the accident site reported, "I observed what appeared to be an airplane flying in a north west direction at a low altitude. It appeared as the airplane was losing altitude. I lost sight of the airplane behind some trees at a distance. At that time I did not hear engine noise from an airplane. After several seconds passed I heard a loud crashing noise." Less than one gallon of fuel was found in the left and right fuel tanks. No fuel was found in the engine fuel lines, fuel pump, or carburetor bowl. The inspection of the airplane revealed no preexisting anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. Emergency responders reported that a 750 ml bottle of vodka was found in the cockpit with about 1/4 of it gone. The toxicology report indicated that pilot's ethanol blood level was almost 5 times the legal limit for presumed intoxication in most states.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.