# Accident 19980415011349A: Piper PA46310P, Miami, FL, April 15, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 15, 1998, 12:47 local time
- Place: Miami, FL
- Airport: Opa Locka Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Forced Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 25.8995° N, 80.2994° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=25.8995&lon=-80.2994&mi=10
- Aircraft: N46SX, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N46SX-2018-01-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-46-310P (registry code 7104605, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-46-310p) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental TSIO-520 series (registry code 17040, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA46310P
- Reported engine: CONT TSIO520BE
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 15,000 total, 129 in this make and model, 21 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA98LA133](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98LA133) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980415011349A

## Narrative

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

LOST POWER ON APPROACH TO OPF. DITCHED IN LAKE. (.4)THE PILOT STATED THAT AS HE DESCENDED BELOW 800 FEET ON APPROACH TO LAND, THE ENGINE SURGED SEVERAL TIMES AND QUIT. HE IMMEDIATELY SWITCHED FUEL TANKS AND TURNED THE ELECTRIC BOOST PUMP TO THE LOW POSITION.  THE ENGINE APPEARED TO START MOMENTARILY AND THEN QUIT.  HE TURNED THE ELECTRIC BOOST PUMP TO HIGH  AND THE ENGINE DID NOT RESPOND.  HE THEN DITCHED THE ARICRAFT IN A LAKE.  AFTER DITCHING, THE AIRCRAFT FLOATED FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES.  FUEL CONSUMPTION CALCULATIONS SHOWED THAT AIRCRAFT CONTAINED ABOUT 3 GALLONS OF FUEL AT THE TIME OF ENGINE FAILURE.  NO FUEL SLICKS WERE OBSERVED ON THE SURFACE OF THE LAKE BY PILOT OR RECOVERY  PERSONNEL.  AFTER RECORERY THE AIRCRAFT WAS FOUND TO CONTAIN ABOUT 2.5 GALLONS OF FUEL.  THE ENGINE WAS STARTED AND OPERATED TO FULL POWER.                                                                       (-23) ON APRIL 15, 1998, ABOUT 1247 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-46-31P, N46SX, REGISTERED TO AN INDIVIDUAL, DITCHED IN A LAKE FOLLOWING LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AT MIAMI LAKES, FLORIDA, WHILE ON A TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND AN I NSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND THE COMMERCIAL-RATED PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM SARASOTA, FLORIDA, THE SAME DAY, ABOUT 1145. THE PILOT STATED THAT WHILE ON APPROACH TO RUNWAY 12 AT THE OPA LOCKA AIRPORT, THE ENGINE LOST POWER. ATTEMPTS TO REGAIN ENGINE POWER WERE UNSUCCESSFUL AND HE DITCHED THE AIRCRAFT IN A LAKE.

## 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 MIA98LA133](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98LA133), Apr 15, 1998: Piper PA-46-310P (N46SX), Miami Lakes, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The failure of the pilot to ensure the aircraft contained enough fuel to complete the flight resulting in loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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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