# Accident 19981003039899A: Piper PA28180, Horizon City, TX, October 3, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 3, 1998, 12:10 local time
- Place: Horizon City, TX
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 31.5892° N, 106.2193° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.5892&lon=-106.2193&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8194W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8194W-2016-02-17) (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
- Reported engine: LYC O360A3A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 5,700 total, 600 in this make and model, 15 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW99LA002](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99LA002) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981003039899A

## Narrative

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

(.4) THE AIRPLANE LOST ENGINE POWER WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE ENCOUNTERED UNFORECASTED HEADWINDS THAT ADDED 30 MINUTES TO THE PLANNED FLIGHT TIME RESULTING IN A TOTAL FLIGHT TIME OF 4 HOURS. HE OBSERVED THE FUEL GAUGES READING LOWER THAN HE EXPECTED, BUTTHOUGHT THE AIRPLANE HAD ENOUGH FUEL TO MAKE IT TO THE WEST TEXAS AIRPORT, EL PASO, TEXAS, WHERE HE PLANNED TO REFUEL THE AIRPLANE. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE RIGHT TANK RAN OUT OF FUEL. FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, WHEN THE LEFT FUEL TANK WAS SELECTED, THE ENGINE LOST POWER. A FORCED LANDING WAS EXECUTED TO ROUGH AND UNEVEN TERRAIN, 7 MILES SOUTHEAST OF THE WEST TEXAS AIRPORT, EL PASO, TEXAS. AN FAA INSPECTOR EXAMINED THE SITE AND FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF FUEL AT THE SITE. HE STATED THAT THE LEFT FUEL TANK WAS EMPTY AND THE RIGHT TANK CONTAINED 1/4 INCHES OF FUEL. (-23) ON OCTOBER 3, 1998, AT 12:07 MDT, A PIPER PA-28-180, N8194W, REGISTERED TO WILLIAM PAUL AND JOHN DAVID HEDGES, CRASHED IN THE DESERT APPROXIMATELY 7 MILES EAST OF WEST TEXAS AIRPORT, EL PASO, TX, WHEN THE AIRCRAFT RAN OUT OF FUEL DURING CRUISE FLIGHT.  VISUAL METEROOLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILE                                               D AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED AND THE CERTIFICATED AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT SUSTAINED SEVERE FACIAL INJURIES.  ONE PASSENGER, AN ADULT, SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES, TWO OTHERS, BOTH CHILDREN, WERE UNINJURED. THE FLIGHT HAD ORIGINATED ABOUT THREE HOURS EARLIER IN SAN ANTONIO, TX.

## 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 FTW99LA002](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99LA002), Oct 3, 1998: Piper PA-28-180 (N8194W), Horizon City, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's failure to refuel the airplane. Factors were the unfavorable wind condition and 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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