Piper PA-28-160 N5426W

Summary

On 30 April 2008 at about 15:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-160 registered N5426W was involved in an accident near Richmond Hill, Georgia, United States. 3 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured, 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

30 April 2008 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Richmond Hill, Georgia, United States

Coordinates

31.8300, -81.2958

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-160

Registration

N5426W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kissimmee → Fayetteville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC08LA172

2 people were seriously injured.

The loss of engine power during cruise flight due to fuel exhaustion, and the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot flew cross-country from his home airport to another airport, and upon arrival, requested that the airplane's fuel tanks be "topped off." The following morning, the pilot flew to a third airport, where the fuel tanks were again topped off. After departing that airport, the pilot flew locally for about 1.5 hours, and then flew another 1.5 hours back to the second airport. Upon arrival, he requested that the airplane be "fully fueled" before his departure to his home airport, 3 days later. On the morning of his departure, the pilot first went to the fixed base operator, and paid for 4-nights' parking and 42.3 gallons of fuel. During the preflight inspection of the airplane, the pilot did not remove the fuel caps to check the quantity. After takeoff, he noted that the fuel gauges indicated half full for each tank, which he believed to be normal for that indicating system when starting with full tanks. About 2 hours later, the fuel gauges still indicated approximately half full. Some time later, the engine sputtered, then lost all power. The pilot switched to the other fuel tank, which was then indicating about one fourth full, and he was able to restart the engine. The pilot declared an emergency, and turned the airplane toward an airport; however, about 5 minutes later, the engine quit, and the pilot could not restart it. The pilot then attempted a forced landing to a road, but impacted trees. A postflight examination of the airplane revealed only trace amounts of fuel onboard. Fuel receipts confirmed that the airplane was initially topped off with 42.3 gallons of fuel at the second airport, but that during the subsequent visit, no fuel was pumped. When the pilot paid for his fuel, he thought he was paying for two refuelings, when he was actually only paying for one.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.