# Accident 19980716016729A: Piper PA28181, Springfield, MO, July 16, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 16, 1998, 21:00 local time - Place: Springfield, MO - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 37.2153° N, 93.2982° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Springfield, MO, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.2153&lon=-93.2982&mi=10 - Aircraft: N2953Y, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2953Y-1999-09-27) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-28-181 (registry code 7102807, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-181) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28181 - Reported engine: LYC O360A4M - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 217 total, 150 in this make and model, 57 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98LA258](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA258) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980716016729A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) ON 07/16/98, AIRCRAFT DEPARTED AUSTIN, TEXAS (3R3) AT 17:08 CST, ENROUTE TO SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI (3DW), ON AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN. DURING PRE-FLIGHT INSPECTION IN 3R3, PILOT STATES NO DISCREPANCIES WERE NOTED AND AIRCRAFT FUEL TANKS "APPEARED" FULL. UPON VISUAL OF 3DW, IFR WAS CANCELLED AND A STRAIGHT IN APPROACH TO LANDING WAS PLANNED FOR RUNWAY 29. APPROXIMATELY 2.5 MILES FROM THE FIELD, ANOTHER AIRCRAFT ANNOUNCED A STRAIGHT IN APPROACH TO RUNWAY 11. PILOT HAD THE APPROACHING AIRCRAFT IN SIGHT AND ANNOUNCED HIS INTENTION TO ENTER A LEFT DOWNWIND IN ORDER TO LAND BEHIND THE AIRCRAFT ON RUNWAY 11. WHILE POSITIONING THE AIRCRAFT, THE PILOT LOST SIGHT OF THE ONCOMING AIRCRAFT AND COULD NOT LOCATE THE RUNWAY. ABOUT THIS TIME, THE ENGINE QUIT. FUEL WAS SWITCHED TO THE RH TANK AND THE ENGINE WAS RESTARTED. PILOT INFORMED SGF ATC ABOUT HIS FUEL SITUATION AND INABILITY TO LOCATE 3DW. SHORTLY AFTER THIS, THE ENGINE QUIT AND AN EMERGENCY LANDING WAS PERFORMED IN A NEARBY FIELD. PILOT WAS NOT INJURED, BUT AIRCRAFT RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. (.4) THE PILOT STATED THAT WHILE HE WAS IN CONTACT WITH APPROACH CONTROL, THE ENGINE QUIT SUDDENLY, HE SWITCHED TANKS, AND THE ENGINE RESTARTED WITHOUT HESITATION. THE PILOT NOTIFIED APPROACH CONTROL OF HIS FUEL SITUATION AND APPROACH CONTROL COMMUNICATED TO THE PILOT THAT HE WAS FLYING DIRECTLY OVER THE AIRPORT. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE STILL DID NOT HAVE VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE AIRPORT. THE ENGINE QUIT, FOR THE SECOND TIME, AND THE PILOT EXECUTED A FORCED LANDING INTO A FIELD. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE USED 3 NOTCHES OF FLAPS, TRIED TO KEEP THE WINGS LEVEL, AND WAS AWARE OF SOME TREES THAT WERE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FIELD HE HAD SELECTED. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST ON SOME RAILROAD TRACKS. POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION SHOWED THAT THE PILOT HAD BEEN FLYING FOR AT LEAST 4 HOURS AND 4 MINUTES AT THE TIME OF THE FIRST ENGINE FAILURE. THE FUEL TANKS WERE DRAINED, WITH 1.5 PINTS OF FUEL BEING DRAINED FROM EACH WING TANK. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF A FUEL SPILL AT THE ACCIDENT SITE AND THE FUEL TANKS WERE NOT COMPROMISED DURING THE FORCED LANDING. THERE WERE NO OTHER ANOMALIES FOUND WITH THE AIRCRAFT, FLIGHT CONTROLS, OR ENGINE. ## 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 CHI98LA258](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA258), Jul 17, 1998: Piper PA-28-181 (N2953Y), Springfield, MO, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot in command's inadequate preflight planning/preparation and inaccurate fuel consumption calculations that caused the aircraft's fuel supply to be exceeded. Factors to the accident were 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. --- 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.