Piper PA-32R-301T N492ST

Summary

On 16 August 2011 at about 08:25 local time, a Piper PA-32R-301T registered N492ST, operated by Alledged; pending outcome of trial., was involved in an accident near Graham, North Carolina, United States. One person was 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

16 August 2011 at 08:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Graham, North Carolina, United States

Coordinates

35.9656, -79.3750

Aircraft

Piper PA-32R-301T

Registration

N492ST

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Alledged; pending outcome of trial.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chapel Hill → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA11LA457

1 person had minor injuries.

The individual's fuel mismanagement, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent engine failure. Contributing the accident was the individual’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed following the engine failure, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was stolen during nighttime hours and flown at varying airspeeds and altitudes for about 2 hours before it impacted trees and terrain. Photographs of the accident scene revealed damage indicative of an almost vertical descent and consistent with a stall. There was no indication of engine power at the time of impact, and no significant amount of fuel was found at the scene, in the airplane, or seeped into the ground. An individual, who had previously held a student pilot certificate, was arrested 2 days after the event. The individual refused to provide a statement to authorities. Fuel prior to takeoff and power settings used could not be determined; however, with fuel exhaustion occurring after only 2 hours for an airplane that should have had considerably more endurance if fully fueled and operated correctly, it is likely that the individual mismanaged the rate of fuel consumption.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.