Piper PA 24 N5152P

Summary

On 25 June 2015 at about 00:00 local time, a Piper PA 24 registered N5152P, operated by Celebrations Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Charles City, Iowa, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 June 2015 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Charles City, Iowa, United States

Nearest airport

Charles City Regional (CCY)

Coordinates

43.0725, -92.6108

Aircraft

Piper PA 24

Registration

N5152P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1958

Engines

1

Operator

Celebrations Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Battle Lake → Oelwein

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

GAA15CA137

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate pre-flight fuel planning resulting in fuel exhaustion and a collision with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during a cross-country flight, "the airplane had a complete loss of engine power", and that he made several attempts to restart the engine that were unsuccessful. The pilot made a forced landing in a field where the airplane came to rest after impacting terrain. A post-accident inspection by Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspectors revealed that the airplane did not have any usable fuel remaining in its tanks at the time of impact, and that the fuel tanks were undamaged. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.