Piper PA-28-181 N4506W

Summary

On 7 May 2014 at about 16:07 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N4506W, operated by Dayton Pilots Club Inc, was involved in an accident near Covington, Tennessee, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 May 2014 at 16:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Covington, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Covington Muni (M04)

Coordinates

35.5833, -89.5872

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N4506W

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Dayton Pilots Club Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Springboro → Covington

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14LA227

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s improper preflight and in-flight fuel planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent total loss of engine power over unsuitable terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the instrument flight rules flight plan filed by the pilot, the airplane departed on an estimated 3.1-hour-long flight and had sufficient fuel on board for an estimated 4.8-hour-long flight. A direct 20- to 25-knot headwind existed at the airplane's cruise altitude. Based on the tachometer reading, about 4.2 hours into the flight, the pilot announced over the destination airport's common traffic advisory frequency that the airplane was "out of fuel." The airplane subsequently impacted swampy, wooded terrain 3 miles from the airport. The cockpit and cabin areas were destroyed by impact. There was no evidence of fuel in the wreckage or fuel spillage at the accident site. A detailed examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact mechanical anomaly with the airframe, engine, or fuel system that would have precluded normal operation. According to the engine manufacturer, at the minimum allowable fuel flow, the engine had a fuel consumption rate of slightly less than 6 gallons per hour (gph) at 45 percent of rated power to slightly less than 15 gph at 100 percent power. Operators of similarly powered airplanes reported that the engine usually consumes 8.8 to 8.9 gph in a cruise configuration, which did not account for fuel used during taxi, takeoff, and climb. A review of flying club logs and aircraft fueling records revealed that the airplane consumed about 10 gph of fuel during the 12 flights in the month before the accident. According to the airplane manufacturer's Pilot's Operating Handbook, the performance charts are unfactored, and the effect of conditions not considered on the charts, including wind aloft on cruise and range performance, must be evaluated by the pilot. The handbook recommends that pilots conduct in-flight fuel flow and quantity checks.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.