Piper PA-28-151 N1158X

Summary

On 24 July 2010 at about 14:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-151 registered N1158X, operated by Glen Van Zee, was involved in an accident near Spearfish, South Dakota, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, 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

24 July 2010 at 14:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Spearfish, South Dakota, United States

Nearest airport

Black Hills Airport (SPF)

Coordinates

44.4811, -103.7858

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-151

Registration

N1158X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Glen Van Zee

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Townsend → Spearfish

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10LA430

1 person died.

The pilot’s improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the airplane’s airspeed was 70 mph when it was crossing the runway threshold, which was 10 mph slower than he normally landed the airplane. He decided to execute a go-around and flew the length of the runway before making the crosswind turn. When he turned left onto the downwind leg, the engine stopped producing power and he executed a forced landing to a field. He reported that he did not see a tree in the field and the right wing impacted the tree after the airplane touched down. Postaccident inspection of the left fuel tank revealed that it was full of fuel. There was no evidence of fuel in the right wing’s fuel tank. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction or failure of the airplane and that he did not switch the fuel tanks prior to landing, causing the engine to lose power due to fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.