Piper PA-32-260 N130GH

Summary

On 29 September 2021 at about 16:15 local time, a Piper PA-32-260 registered N130GH, operated by Brad Influence LLP, was involved in an accident near Hancock, Minnesota, 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

29 September 2021 at 16:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Hancock, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

45.4967, -95.7967

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-260

Registration

N130GH

Category

Airplane

Year built

1965

Engines

1

Operator

Brad Influence LLP

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Elbow Lake → Benson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA461

1 person had minor injuries.

A total loss of engine power as a result of fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to properly manage the fuel on board the airplane and his failure to perform an adequate preflight inspection.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that before he departed for a cross country flight, he asked the fuel servicing personnel to fill the left fuel tank. While enroute and burning fuel only from the left tank, the airplane lost all engine power and the pilot executed a forced landing into a field, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. During a post-accident inspection, the left fuel tank was found to be empty. The pilot stated that he assumed all of his fuel tanks were full at the time of departure but did not confirm the fuel level by looking in the tanks or at the fuel gauges. He also stated that his failure to verify the fuel quantity resulted in a fuel exhaustion event when the 6.6 gallons of fuel in the left main tank were consumed. He did not use fuel from the right tank during the flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.