# Accident 19980720016199A: Piper PA28181, Fairview, OK, July 20, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 20, 1998, 10:00 local time
- Place: Fairview, OK
- Airport: Municipal
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.2602° N, 98.4706° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.2602&lon=-98.4706&mi=10
- Aircraft: N626BP, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N626BP) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-181 (registry code 7102807, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-181) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming I0360 series (registry code 41515, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28181
- Reported engine: LYC O360A4M
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 203 total, 85 in this make and model, 8 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98LA322](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA322) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980720016199A

## Narrative

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

LOST POWER ENROUTE. WAS LOW ON FUEL AND TRIED FOR 6K4 BUT OUT OF FUEL ON SHORT FINAL. HIT 2 DITCHED SEVERED GEAR. (.4) ON JULY 20, 1998, ABOUT 1000 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-28-181 AIRPLANE, N626BP, REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY SABETHA FLYERS, INC., OF SABETHA, KANSAS, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A FORCED LANDING FOLLOWING A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER NEAR FAIRVIEW, OKLAHOMA. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND 3 PASSENGERS SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED FOR THE TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT. THE BUSINESS FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM SABETHA, KANSAS, ABOUT 2 HOURS AND FORTY MINUTES PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT WHILE EN ROUTE TO THE CLINTON MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, CLINTON, OKLAHOMA, THE AIRPLANE ENCOUNTERED A "BRISK" HEADWIND. APPROXIMATELY 35 MILES NORTH OF FAIRVIEW, OKLAHOMA, HE "REALIZED" THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS LOW ON FUEL. THE PILOT REPORTED THE FUEL SITUATION TO THE FIXED BASE OPERATOR (FBO) AT THE FIARVIEW MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AND CONTINUED TOWARD THE AIRPORT. THE PILOT FURTHER REPORTED THAT THE AIRCRAFT "RAN OUT OF FUEL" ABOUT 1/2 MILE NORTH OF THE AIRPORT. A FORCED LANDING WAS INITIATED TO A FIELD. DURING THE LANDING ROLL THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED A DITCH AND CAME TO A STOP UPRIGHT. THE PILOT ALSO REPORTED THAT PRIOR TO THE FLIGHT THE FUEL LEVEL WAS INITIATED TO A FIELD. DURING THE LANDING ROLL THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED A DITCH AND CAME TO A STOP UPRIGHT. THE PILOT ALSO REPORTED THAT PRIOR TO THE FLIGHT THE FUEL LEVEL WAS "ABOVE THE TANK TABS, APPROXIMATELY 36 GALLONS." EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT BY AN FAA INSPECTOR REVEALED THAT ALL OF THE LANDING GEAR ASSEMBLIES WERE SEPARATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT, BOTH WINGS HAD STRUCTURAL DAMAGE, THE ENGINE WAS DISPLACED DOWNWARD, AND THE FIREWALL WAS BUCKLED. (-23) ON JULY 20, 1998, AT 1000 CDT, A PIPER PA-28-181 AIRPLANE, N626BP, THE PILOT WAS FORCED TO LAND DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION. ABOUT .5 MILE FROM FAIRVIEW AIRPORT, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED A DITCH WHICH PARALLELED A ROAD AND THEN CROSSED THE ROAD AND IMPACTED THE DITCH ON THE OTHER SIDE.  THE PILOT AND THREE PASSENGERS SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES.

## 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 FTW98LA322](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA322), Jul 20, 1998: Piper PA-28-181 (N626BP), Fairview, OK, substantial damage. Probable cause: Loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's failure to refuel. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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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