# Incident 19980304004949I: Piper PA24250, Fresno, CA, March 4, 1998

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 4, 1998, 12:00 local time
- Place: Fresno, CA
- Airport: Sierra Sky Park Airport
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.8402° N, 119.8694° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at SIERRA SKY PARK (E79), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.8402&lon=-119.8694&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8045P, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8045P) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-24-250 (registry code 7102404, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24-250) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA24250
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 38,000 total, 30 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980304004949I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 1998, AT 1200 PST, A PIPER COMANCHE, PA-24-250, N8045P, HAD AN ENGINE FAILURE APPROXIMATELY 1/2 MILE SOUTHEAST OF SIERRA SKY PARK, FRESNO, CA WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND THERE. THE PILOT LANDED HIS AIRPLANE ON SANTA FE AVE., NORTH OF FIGARDEN DR. THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOT DAMAGED AND THE PILOT DID NOT SUSTAIN ANY INJURIES. THE CAUSE OF THE ENGINE FAILURE IS UNKNOWN, HOWEVER, THE PILOT SAID THAT SHORTLY BEFORE HE ENTERED THE TRAFFIC PATTERN AT SIERRA SKY PARK HE SWITCHED FUEL TANKS WHICH MAY HAVE MOMENTARILY STARVED THE ENGINE OF FUEL.

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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