Piper PA-28-181 N5324F

Summary

On 22 October 2023 at about 00:35 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N5324F, operated by Toby Baker, was involved in an accident near Iola, Kansas, 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

22 October 2023 at 00:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Iola, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

37.8736, -95.3533

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N5324F

Category

Airplane

Year built

1976

Engines

1

Operator

Toby Baker

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chicago → Iola

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN24LA022

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s inadequate fuel planning, 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 48 gallons of fuel on board and assumed that he would be able to fly for about 5 hours. After about 4 hours and 20 minutes of flying, the pilot began his descent for landing at his destination, turned the fuel pump on, and checked the fuel gauges. The gauges read about 3 or 4 gallons of fuel remaining in each fuel tank. Shortly thereafter, the engine quit. The pilot switched fuel tanks and the engine started again momentarily and then quit again. He landed the airplane on a gravel road about 1.5 miles northeast of the airport. After touchdown, the right wing struck a tree and separated from the fuselage resulting in substantial damage. The pilot reported that he believes the airplane ran out fuel, which resulted in the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.