Piper PA-18 N40520
27 April 2007 · Prineville, Oregon, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 27 April 2007 at about 15:00 local time, a Piper PA-18 registered N40520 was involved in an accident near Prineville, Oregon, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 15:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Prineville, Oregon, United States
- Nearest airport
- Prineville Airport (S39)
- Coordinates
- 44.3244, -120.9069
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18
- Registration
- N40520
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Prineville → Prineville
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- SEA07CA113
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
The total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot failing to correctly read the fuel quantity sight gauges. Factors include soft, brushy terrain, and the pilot's intentional excessive braking during the forced landing.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
During the preflight inspection, the pilot looked at the fuel level sight gauges and did not see a meniscus point in the clear tubes. He therefore assumed that this meant the tanks were completely full and that the entire sight gauge was filled with fuel. About five minutes after departure the aircraft ran out of fuel, and during the ensuing forced landing the aircraft nosed over on the soft, brushy terrain as the pilot applied "excessive braking" in order to stop before reaching a line of trees. After the accident, the pilot checked his fueling log, and then realized that the fuel tanks had been almost completely empty prior to takeoff, and that the reason he saw no meniscus point in the fuel quantity sight gauges was because the lines were completely full of air. The pilot had not visually checked the fuel tanks during his preflight.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-18 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 2007 | Piper PA-18 | Fairbanks, Alaska, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 5 Nov 2007 | Piper PA-18-150 | Cortez, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 1 Jun 2007 | Piper PA-18 | Talkeetna, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 24 Oct 2007 | Piper PA-18 | Anchorage, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 6 Nov 2007 | Piper PA-18-135 | Durbin, West Virginia, United States | Van Wagner Aerial Media | No injuries | - |
| 4 Oct 2007 | Piper PA-18-150 | Hot Springs, Arkansas, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
All 2,950 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Jul 2007 | Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A | Burns, Oregon, United States | U.S. Forest Service | Minor injuries | - |
| 20 Sep 2007 | Jeffrey Wilson ESCAPADE | La Grande, Oregon, United States | Brad T. Payne | No injuries | - |
| 2 Nov 2007 | Interplane XJ | Independence, Oregon, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 22 Apr 2007 | Jiran FJ-1 | Banks, Oregon, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 18 Sep 2007 | Root SHERPA | Scappoose, Oregon, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 15 Jul 2007 | Cessna 182S | Astoria, Oregon, United States | - | No injuries | - |