Piper PA-28-161 N20977

Summary

On 7 August 2009 at about 21:43 local time, a Piper PA-28-161 registered N20977, operated by AV-ED Flight School Inc., was involved in an accident near Winchester, Virginia, United States. 2 people were on board and 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

7 August 2009 at 21:43

Classification

Accident

Location

Winchester, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Winchester Regional Airport (OKV)

Coordinates

39.1704, -78.1708

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-161

Registration

N20977

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

AV-ED Flight School Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Winchester → Winchester

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09LA456

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection and failure to ensure an adequate quantity of fuel was available for the flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he departed on the local flight with an undetermined quantity of fuel. As the airplane neared the traffic pattern at the destination airport, the engine lost power. The pilot unsuccessfully attempted to restore engine power, and subsequently performed a forced landing. The airplane impacted a fence about 1,200 feet short of the runway threshold, which resulted in substantial damage. No fuel or evidence of fuel spillage was noted at the accident scene. The engine started immediately, ran continuously, and showed no evidence of any mechanical abnormalities during a postaccident test-run. Examination of fuel records revealed that the airplane was last fueled about one week prior the the accident and flew 4.2 flight hours prior to the loss of engine power. According to the airplane's Operating Handbook, the airplane contained two 25-gallon fuel tanks, 1 gallon of which was unusable in each tank. Fuel consumption calculations using data from the handbook revealed that at power settings between 55 and 75-percent power, and between best power and best economy fuel flow settings, the airplane would have an expected cruise endurance of between 4.8 and 5.6 hours. The calculation was for cruise endurance only, and did not take into account fuel burned during taxi, run-up, takeoff, climb, descent, or landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.