Piper PA-28-161 N6AU

Summary

On 10 July 2004 at about 07:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-161 registered N6AU, operated by Jules Moffet, was involved in an accident near Tallassee, Alabama, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 July 2004 at 07:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Tallassee, Alabama, United States

Coordinates

32.5167, -85.8833

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-161

Registration

N6AU

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Jules Moffet

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wetumpka → Auburn

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ATL04CA149

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's mismanagement of the fuel supply, which resulted in fuel starvation and the subsequent loss of engine power. A factor was pilot fatigue and the unauthorized use of the airplane .

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he performed a preflight on the airplane and that he observed the fuel tanks to be "half full". The pilot then took off from Wetumpka Municipal Airport and went to Autauga County Airport in Prattville, Alabama where he performed three touch and go landings and flew around the local area. The pilot went back to Wetumpka and performed four touch and go landings. From there, the pilot decided that he would fly to Auburn, Alabama. While en route, the pilot stated that he "fell asleep and ran the left fuel tank empty." His next memory was the impact with the ground in a cotton field. Examination of the airplane revealed the wreckage path was approximately 50 feet long on a heading of 210 degrees. All three landing gears were separated from the airplane and both propeller blades were bent aft with no rotational twisting of the blades. The engine mount was broken, the throttle control was found closed, the mixture was found full rich and the fuel selector was found on the left tank. No fuel was found in the left fuel tank, however 10 to 15 gallons of fuel were found in the right fuel tank.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.