Piper PA-28-181 N1857H
24 March 2009 · Firebaugh, California, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 24 March 2009 at about 01:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N1857H was involved in an accident near Firebaugh, California, United States. One person was 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 01:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Firebaugh, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Firebaugh (F34)
- Coordinates
- 36.8597, -120.4644
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-181
- Registration
- N1857H
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Palm Springs → San Jose
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- WPR09LA164
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate fuel planning and monitoring.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot reported departing with about 45 gallons of fuel onboard. She initiated a climb to 10,500 feet, and turned on course direct to the destination airport. About 3 1/2 hours into the flight, she checked the fuel gauges, and estimated that there was enough fuel remaining for about 1 hour 10 minutes of flight. About 15 minutes later the engine stopped producing power. The pilot observed one of the gauges was now reading empty, so she switched to the other tank; the engine then regained power, and she diverted to an alternate airport. During the landing approach, the engine then lost power again, and the pilot performed a forced landing in a plowed field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing during the accident sequence. Post accident inspection revealed that both tanks were intact and absent of fuel. No obvious sources of a fuel leak were noted. The pilot reported encountering strong headwinds during the flight, and further stated that she was not comfortable with the leaning procedure for the airplane type.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-28 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Dec 2009 | Piper PA-28-140 | Heflin, Alabama, United States | John Gilbert | Fatal | 1 |
| 27 Dec 2009 | Piper PA-28-180 | Alexandria, Louisiana, United States | Jack Bradley McCullough | No injuries | - |
| 18 Oct 2009 | Piper PA-28-181 | Oliver Springs, Tennessee, United States | OAK Ridge Flyers Inc | Fatal | 1 |
| 23 Jul 2009 | Piper PA-28-181 | Metaline Falls, Washington, United States | Plus One Flyers | No injuries | - |
| 12 Mar 2009 | Piper PA-28 | Darlington, South Carolina, United States | Skyline Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 3 Jan 2009 | Piper PA-28-151 | Powder Springs, Tennessee, United States | Warrior Aviation LLC | Fatal | 2 |
All 9,402 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Apr 2009 | Cessna 172P | Livermore, California, United States | Wollard Aviation Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 10 Dec 2009 | Piper PA-38-112 | Ojai, California, United States | Aviation Pacific Inc | Fatal | 2 |
| 28 Feb 2009 | Piper PA-28R-200 | Fallbrook, California, United States | M.Y. Air Corp | No injuries | - |
| 28 Feb 2009 | Mooney M20E | Rio Linda, California, United States | David Michaud | Fatal | 2 |
| 29 Nov 2009 | Curtiss-Wright TRAVEL AIR 4000 | Torrance, California, United States | Smith Richard Charles | No injuries | - |
| 23 Aug 2009 | Piper PA-24-260 | Santa Barbara, California, United States | Kris S Michel | No injuries | - |