# Accident 19971222043239A: Piper PA28180, Everglades, FL, December 22, 1997 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 22, 1997, 18:47 local time - Place: Everglades, FL - Airport: Everglades Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Normal Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 25.8578° N, 81.3865° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Everglades, FL, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=25.8578&lon=-81.3865&mi=10 - Aircraft: N9640J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9640J-2018-01-25) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-28-180 (registry code 7102808, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-180) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28180 - Fatal injuries: 0 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA98LA044](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98LA044) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971222043239A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. FUEL DEPLETION AT NIGHT. CRASHED INTO EVERGLADES. FAILED TO LEAN. FAILED REFUEL ENROUTE. ENDANGERED LIFE ANOTHER. (.19) ON DECEMBER 22, 1997, ABOUT 1847 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-28-180C, N9640J, REGISTERED TO A PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, OPERATED BY INTERSTATE AIRCRAFT SERVICES, AS A 14 CFR 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT, CRASHED INTO A MANGROVE IN THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME, AND THE PRIVATE-RATED PILOT WAS RECEIVING FLIGHT FOLLOWING FROM MIAMI CENTER. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE, AND THE PILOT AND PASSENGER SUFFERED MINOR INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM COOK COUNTY AIRPORT, ADEL, GEORGIA, A REPORTED 3 HOURS 20 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT AND THE INTENDED DESTINATION WAS MARATHON, FLORIDA. INITIAL NOTIFICATION OF THE ACCIDENT REPORTED THE PILOT RADIOED THAT HE WAS "LOW ON FUEL" FOLLOWED SHORTLY WITH A CALL THAT HE WAS "OUT OF FUEL". THE PILOT MADE A FORCED LANDING INTO SALT WATER MANGROVE TREES ON AN ISLAND NAMED "UN-NAMED ISLAND" ABOUT 6 MILES SOUTH OF THE EVERGLADES CITY AIRPORT. THE OWNER OF THE AIRCRAFT SAID THE PILOT AHD MADE THE SAME TRIP WITH THIS AIRCRAFT RECENTLY, BUT THAT HE HAD REFUELED AT THE NAPLES AIRPORT ON THAT OCCASION. THE OWNER ALSO MENTIONED HIS ESTIMATE OF THE PILOT'S TAKE-OFF TIME FROM COOK COUNTY AIRPORT TO BE ABOUT 1445, OR APPROXIMATELY 4 HOURS 2 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT.(-23) FLIGHT FROM ADEL, GA. TO MARATHON, FL. FLEW BETWEEN 9.500 AND 10,700 MSL. DID NOT STOP TO REFUEL. DEPENDED ON FUEL GUAGES AND RAN OUT OF FUEL SHORT OF INTENDED DESTINATION. CRASHED INTO SWAMP AT NIGHT, WITH ONE PASSENGER ON BOARD. BOTH SUSTAINED VERY MINOR INJURIES AND WERE RESCUED BY US PARK RANGERS, WITH ASSISTANCE FROM MIAMI ARTCC, THE CIVILIAN PILOTS, SHERIFFS DEPT AND US COAST GUARD. PILOT STATES THAT BOTH FUEL GAUGES INDICATED 1/4 FULL WHEN ENGINE QUIT. ## 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 MIA98LA044](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98LA044), Dec 22, 1997: Piper PA-28-180 (N9640J), Everglades City, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's improper fuel management and improper in-flight planning/decision, which resulted in fuel exhaustion, loss of engine power, and a forced landing. Related factors were: the light… ## Other reports on N9640J (3) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 19960609013159A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960609013159A), Jun 9, 1996: Piper PA28180 (N9640J), Valdosta, GA, Substantial damage. Aircraft ran out of fuel and made an emergency landing in a corn field. Wing tip struck a pine tree. - [Incident 19890908061299I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19890908061299I), Sep 8, 1989: Piper PA28180 (N9640J), Arco, ID, Minor damage. Pilot made hard landing. Nose tire blew and propeller struck runway. - [Incident 19790819032029I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19790819032029I), Aug 19, 1979: Piper PA28* (N9640J), Pocatello, ID, Minor damage. Student lost control while taxiing. Struck parked aircraft. 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.