# Accident 19990414003479A: Piper PA31, Monterey, CA, April 14, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 14, 1999, 18:00 local time
- Place: Monterey, CA
- Airport: Monterey Peninsula
- Damage: Destroyed
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.6012° N, 121.8828° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Monterey, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.6012&lon=-121.8828&mi=10
- Aircraft: N141CM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N141CM-2013-04-10) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-31 (registry code 7103103, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA31
- Fatal injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99LA149](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA149) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990414003479A

## Narrative

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

ACFT WAS ON A VFR FLIGHT OVER THE OCEAN (APPROXIMATELY 30 MILES OFF SHORE) WHEN THE PILOT ADVISED OAKLAND ARTCC THAT THE ACFT DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH FUEL TO MAKE IT TO THE RPT, THE ACFT SUBSEQUENTLY DITCHED IN THE OCEAN, THE PILOT EVACUATED AND WAS RESCUED BY THE COAST GUARD BUT THE ACFT SANK INTO THE WATER, OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN, THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY 15-20 MILES OFF SHORE OF SALINAS, CA. (-23) N141CM, ON A VFR FLIGHT PLAN FROM HONOLULU, HI, ENROUTE TO MONTEREY, CA., LANDED SHORT OF THE COAST, ABOUT 24 MILES FROM MONTEREY, CA. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE ENGINES STARTED RUNNING ROUGH AT 150 MILES OUT. HE COULD NOT CORRECT WHATEVER WAS WRONG. THE AIRCRAFT SANK AFTER LANDING AT SEA. THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DATA O^ WAS RESCUED WITHIN 30 MINUTES.

## 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 LAX99LA149](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA149), Apr 15, 1999: Piper PA-31 (N141CM), Pacific Ocean (Pacific Ocean), destroyed. Probable cause: An undetermined system malfunction in the right engine, which led to an increase in fuel usage beyond the pilot's planned fuel consumption rate and eventual fuel supply 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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