# Accident 19971216038999A: Piper PA24250, Wichita, KS, December 16, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 16, 1997, 18:15 local time
- Place: Wichita, KS
- Airport: Colonel James Jabara Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Forced Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.7707° N, 97.2091° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.7707&lon=-97.2091&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6377L (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA24250
- Reported engine: LYC O540*
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 447 total, 1 in this make and model, 18 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98LA064](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA064) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971216038999A

## Narrative

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

STUDENT SWITHCED TANKS ON FINAL. ENGINE QUIT. CFI SWITCHED BACK TO FULLER TANK. NO RESTART. FOLDED GEAR SOFT FIELD.                                  (-23) SWITCHED TO FUEL TANK WHICH WAS EMPTY DURING BEFORE LANDING CHECKLIST, ENGINE QUIT AND THE AIRCRAFT LANDED SHORT OF THE RUNWAY.

## 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 CHI98LA064](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA064), Dec 17, 1997: Piper PA-24-250 (N6377L), Wichita, KS, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot-in-command misjudged the fuel supply and selected an empty fuel tank which resulted in fuel exhaustion. A factor associated with the accident was the rough terrain encountered when the…

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.

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