Piper PA-38-112 N2579N

Summary

On 11 June 2004 at about 23:20 local time, a Piper PA-38-112 registered N2579N, operated by Robert R. Moore, was involved in an accident near Jerome, Idaho, United States. 2 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

11 June 2004 at 23:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Jerome, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

42.6667, -114.4500

Aircraft

Piper PA-38-112

Registration

N2579N

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Robert R. Moore

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Jerome → Jerome

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA04LA104

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to refuel the airplane resulting in fuel exhaustion and the loss of power during descent for landing. Factors contributing to the accident were the soft terrain and the forced landing site.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he had made several flights on the day of the accident without refueling the airplane. On this the final flight, the pilot estimated there to be 1.5 hours of fuel remaining and departed with the intention of flying for 30 minutes. The pilot further reported that he "lost track of time" and, when he noticed the fuel was low, elected to return to the airport. Approximately three miles south of the airport, fuel pressure was lost and the pilot switched the fuel selector to the left tank. The engine ran for about 20 seconds then stopped. The pilot then executed a forced landing in a potato field. During the roll out, the nose wheel dug into the soft dirt resulting in a nose over.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.