Piper PA-28-181 N38483

Summary

On 2 August 2023 at about 20:59 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N38483 was involved in an accident near Rosenberg, Texas, United States. One person was 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

2 August 2023 at 20:59

Classification

Accident

Location

Rosenberg, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Lane Airpark (T54)

Coordinates

29.5233, -95.7798

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N38483

Category

Airplane

Year built

1977

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Antonio → Houston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA345

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s improper fuel management that resulted in fuel exhaustion, a total loss of engine power, and a subsequent forced landing and landing overrun at an alternate airport.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot stated that in preparation for his solo cross-country flight, he reviewed his flight planning with his flight instructor. He said he flew to the destination airport, where he performed one approach and landing, followed by flight maneuvers north of the airport, and then landed. The pilot shut the airplane down to use the restroom. Prior to departure from the destination airport, he did not visually check the airplane fuel level through the fuel filler ports. During the return flight, he visually observed the fuel quantity and was decreasing rapidly, and he decided to land at an alternate airport. During the approach to the alternate airport, the engine sputtered and lost power. He landed the airplane with a tailwind and strongly applied the brakes to try to slow the airplane down as soon as possible. The airplane overran the runway and impacted a fence and construction equipment that resulted in substantial damage to both wings. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no useable fuel in the airplane fuel tanks.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.