# Accident 19981230034419A: Piper PA32260, Fabens, TX, December 30, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 30, 1998, 15:05 local time - Place: Fabens, TX - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 31.4999° N, 106.1508° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.4999&lon=-106.1508&mi=10 - Aircraft: N7724J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7724J-2013-05-09) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-32-260 (registry code 7103206, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-260) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA32260 - Reported engine: LYC O540E4B5 - People aboard: 4 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 356 total, 53 in this make and model - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW99LA056](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99LA056) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981230034419A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT WAS LOW ON FUEL WITH A ROUGH RUNNING ENGINE, AND THE PILOT MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN A FIELD. (.4) ON DECEMBER 30, 1998, AT 1505 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-32-260 AIRPLANE, N7724J, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A FORCED LANDING, FOLLOWING A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER NEAR FABENS, TEXAS. THE AIRPLANE WAS OWNED BY A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL AND OPERATED BY WINGS OF HOUSTON OF SPRING, TEXAS. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND THREE PASSENGERS WERE NOT INJURED, AND ONE PASSENGER SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE DAVID WAYNE HOOKS MEMORIAL AIRPORT, SPRING, TEXAS, WITH A DESTINATION OF EL PASO, TEXAS, ABOUT 5 HOURS 13 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT REPORTED IN THE PILOT/OPERATOR AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT, NTSB FORM 6120.1/2, THAT HE "INSPECTED ALL 4 FUEL TANKS FOLLOWING REFUELING PRIOR TO DEPARTURE." THE PILOT FURTHER REPORTED THAT HE PERFORMED FUEL CALCULATIONS AT ABOUT 3 HOURS INTO THE FLIGHT USING FUEL GAUGE READINGS, AND "FUEL USAGE [WAS] ESTIMATED AT 12 GPH." ABOUT 25 NAUTICAL MILES PRIOR TO THE HUDSPETH VORTAC, HE SWITCHED TO THE LEFT MAIN FUEL TANK, WHICH INDICATED 20 GALLONS (TANK WAS USED FOR TAKEOFF AND INITIAL CLIMB). AT ABOUT 20 MILES PRIOR TO THE HUDSPETH VORTAC, THE LEFT MAIN FUEL GAUGE DROPPED TO ABOUT 13 GALLONS. THE CLOSEST AIRPORT WITH SERVICES (FABENS) WAS LOCATED AND A TURN WAS MADE TOWARD THE AIRPORT. THE PILOT NOTIFIED EL PASO APPROACH CONTROL OF HIS LOW FUEL STATUS AND WAS GIVEN RADAR VECTORS TO THE FABENS AIRPORT. PRIOR TO REACHING THE AIRPORT, THE ENGINE LOST POWER. DURING THE ENSUING FORCED LANDING, THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN ON THE UP-SLOPE OF A SAND DUNE. THE PERSON WHO RECOVERED THE AIRCRAFT REPORTED TO THE INVESTIGATOR-IN-CHARGE (IIC) THAT THELEFT WING WAS PARTIALLY SEPARATED FROM THE FUSELAGE. THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR WAS SEPARATED, THE FUSELAGE WAS WRINKLED NEAR THE TAIL, AND THE LEFT HORIZONTAL STABILIZER WAS BENT. THE RECOVERY PERSON ALSO REPORTED THAT HE DRAINED ALL FUEL TANKS, AND THE ONLY FUEL RECOVERED WAS EIGHT OUNCES FROM THE RIGHT OUTBOARD TANK. HE OBSERVED NO EVIDENCE OF THE FUEL SYSTEM BEING COMPROMISED. HIS EXAMINATION OF THE COCKPIT REVEALED THAT THE FUEL SELECTOR WAS SELECTING THE RIGHT OUTBOARD FUEL TANK. THE OPERATOR REPORTED TO THE IIC THAT THE AIRPLANE'S NORMAL FUEL CONSUMPTION WAS 15 TO 18 GALLONS PER HOUR. THE OPERATOR FURTHER REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE'S AVERAGE FUEL CONSUMPTION FOR ITS PREVIOUS TWO FLIGHTS WAS CALCULATED TO BE 16.27 GALLONS PER HOUR. THE AIRPLANE'S FOUR FUEL TANKS HOLD A TOTAL OF 84 GALLONS, OF WHICH 80 GALLONS ARE USEABLE. (-23) FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT HOUSTON, TX WAS FLIGHT PLANNED TO LAND AT FABENS, TX. AIRCRAFT RAN OUT OF FUEL SHORT OF LANDING RUNWAY AT FABENS, 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 FTW99LA056](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99LA056), Dec 30, 1998: Piper PA-32-260 (N7724J), Fabens, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to correctly calculate fuel consumption, which resulted in the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. 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. --- 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.