# Accident 19810717053049A: Piper PA28140, Bellingham, WA, July 17, 1981

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 17, 1981, 08:15 local time
- Place: Bellingham, WA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 48.7534° N, 122.4702° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Bellingham, WA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.7534&lon=-122.4702&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6497R, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6497R-2012-10-09) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-140 (registry code 7102802, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-140) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28140
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 380 total, 380 in this make and model, 60 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA81DYE35](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA81DYE35) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19810717053049A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON TOP OF CLOUD DECK NEAR DESTINATION. RAN OUT OF FUEL AFTER MUCH RADAR VECTORING. DITCHED IN PUGET SOUND.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB SEA81DYE35](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA81DYE35), Jul 17, 1981: Piper PA-28 (N6497R), Bellingham, WA, destroyed

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.
