Piper PA-28-180 N7534W

Summary

On 14 August 2005 at about 01:14 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N7534W was involved in an accident near Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. 4 people were on board and 3 died, 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

14 August 2005 at 01:14

Classification

Accident

Location

Erie, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Erie International Airport (ERI)

Coordinates

42.0819, -80.1761

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N7534W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Jamestown → Erie

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

NYC05LA134

3 people died.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion on approach, and subsequent loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had planned a round-trip cross country flight, with several stops. The airplane was fueled the night prior, and the pilot completed five legs of the trip uneventfully. He did not purchase fuel at the third airport, and remarked about the price. Fuel was not available at the fourth airport, and the pilot did not utilize the after hours telephone number at the fifth airport. While en route to the sixth airport, the pilot reported fuel exhaustion to ATC, and subsequently performed a forced landing in a wooded area. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the left wing fuel tank was compromised. The right wing fuel tank remained intact, and contained about 16 ounces of fuel, with some water observed in the fuel sample. Review of an owner's handbook for the make and model accident airplane revealed that the fuel capacity was 50 gallons, and the engine consumed 10 gallons of fuel per hour at a 75-percent power setting, resulting in a 5-hour endurance. Examination of fueling logs revealed that the airplane had flown approximately 5.07 hours tachometer time, or 5.7 Hobbs hours, since the last refueling.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.