Piper PA-32-260 N3688W

Summary

On 14 February 2012 at about 13:00 local time, a Piper PA-32-260 registered N3688W, operated by Gregory Huggins, was involved in an accident near Amory, Mississippi, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 February 2012 at 13:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Amory, Mississippi, United States

Coordinates

34.0806, -88.4942

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-260

Registration

N3688W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Gregory Huggins

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Umatilla → Olive Branch

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12LA180

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight and in-flight planning and decision-making, including his inadequate weather evaluation and his delayed diversion to a closer airport, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he had topped off the airplane with 6 hours of fuel, based on a best economy mixture setting, for a planned 4-hour cross-country flight. While filing his instrument flight plan, the weather briefer advised the pilot of moderate icing along the route of flight at an altitude range that included the pilot's planned cruising altitude. Although the single-engine airplane was not certified or equipped for flight into known icing conditions, the pilot proceeded with the flight. While en route, about 200 miles from the destination airport, the airplane's engine began to run rough, and the pilot enriched the fuel mixture, which alleviated the problem and also resulted in an increased fuel burn from about 14 gallons-per-hour to about 18 gallons-per-hour. At that time, the airplane was over a large metropolitan area with an airport where the pilot could have made a fuel stop; however, the pilot did not stop. As the flight continued, he had to descend to lower and lower altitudes due to icing conditions. About 4 hours into the flight, the pilot realized that he did not have enough fuel to reach his planned destination and attempted to divert to an airport that was 65 miles closer than the original destination airport. As an air traffic controller was providing vectors to the instrument landing system approach at the diversion airport, the pilot reported twice that he was concerned about fuel but did not declare an emergency. Even if the pilot had declared a fuel emergency, the controller’s actions would likely have been no different as he was limited in what he could do by the prevailing instrument meteorological conditions. About 5 minutes after the first report of low fuel, the pilot reported that he had a fuel problem for a third time and that the engine had lost all power. The controller then provided directions to an open field, but the airplane impacted a wooded area about 15 miles from the diversion airport. The fuel tanks ruptured during the impact sequence, and no fuel odor was present at the accident site. Subsequent examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions. At the time of the power loss, the pilot had been flying for about 5 hours, which included flight at both the best economy and richer mixture settings. The airplane held 84 gallons of fuel and, and at the richer mixture setting, it had a fuel endurance of about 4 hours 40 minutes not including fuel needed for start, taxi, takeoff, and climb.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.