Piper PA-28-181 N5360F

Summary

On 26 April 2005 at about 04:43 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N5360F was involved in an accident near Lake Michigan, Wisconsin, 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

26 April 2005 at 04:43

Classification

Accident

Location

Lake Michigan, Wisconsin, United States

Coordinates

44.2687, -89.6175

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N5360F

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Niagara Falls → Madison

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CHI05FA180

1 person died.

The pilot's inaccurate preflight planning and his delayed en route decision to make a fuel stop, which resulted in the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and subsequent ditching.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane experienced a loss of engine power while flying over Lake Michigan. The pilot survived the ditching and is presumed to be fatal. The pilot was attempting to fly from Niagara Falls, New York, to Madison, Wisconsin, without a fuel stop. The total distance between the two airports was 454.8 nautical miles (nm) and crosses over Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. The accident flight was about 4 hours and 7 minutes in duration and the airplane traveled about 390 nm. The pilot departed with full fuel tanks or 48 gallons of useable fuel. The fuel endurance for the accident airplane was about 4.5 hours at the 75% best power setting. The listed fuel flow value assumed a properly leaned engine. The fuel flow values for engine power settings greater than 75% were not listed in the airplane performance documentation. The pilot reportedly told a line technician at the departure airport that the flight was "planned for three hours and he had four hours of fuel on board." The accident airplane flew over Muskegon County Airport, Muskegon, Michigan, just before crossing the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. At this point the airplane had been airborne for about 3 hours and 24 minutes. The pilot decided that he would need to divert for fuel a few minutes before completely running out of available fuel. The airplane exhausted all available fuel after being airborne for about 4 hours and 2 minutes. The prevailing winds aloft were out of the west and averaged 30 knots at the accident airplane's cruising altitudes. The airplane was salvaged and no mechanical anomalies were found.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.