# Accident 20000103011549A: Piper PA24180, Moncks Corner, SC, January 3, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 3, 2000, 21:30 local time
- Place: Moncks Corner, SC
- Airport: Berkeley County Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.1910° N, 79.9895° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.1910&lon=-79.9895&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5703P, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5703P-2000-06-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-24-180 (registry code 7102403, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24-180) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA24180
- Reported engine: LYC O360A1A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 16,000 total, 850 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL00FA021](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL00FA021) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000103011549A

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT IN COMMAND REPORTED FUEL EXHAUSTION. AIRCRAFT CRASHED DOWN IN AN NATIONAL FOREST.  NO FIRE.                                              (-4) ON JANUARY 3, 2000, AT 2130 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-24-180, N5703P COLLIDED WITH TREES IN A HEAVILY WOODED AREA WHILE MANEUVERING FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN CORDSVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS OPERATED BY THE PILOT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 WITH NO FLIGHT PLAN FILED. VISUAL WEATHER CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE AIRPLANE WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. THE AIR TRANSPORT PILOT AND HIS FRONT SEAT PASSENGER RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES; THE REAR-SEATED PASSENGER RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED THE PRINCETON/ROCKY HILL AIRPORT IN PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY, AT 1615.                                                                                                            ACCORDING TO THE FIXED BASE OPERATOR (FBO) AT PRINCETON/ROCKY HILL AIRPORT, THE AIRPLANE WAS TOPPED-OFF WITH AVIATION FUEL BEFORE THE FLIGHT DEPARTED. THE FBO ALSO REPORTED THAT THE PILOT HAD STATED THAT HIS DESTINATION WAS KEY WEST, FLORIDA, AND THE PILOT PLANNED AN ENROUTE STOP IN SAVANNAH, GEORGI A. APPROX. FIVE HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES INOT THE FLIGHT, THE PILOT RADIOED CHARLESTON, GEORGIA. APPROX. FIVE HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT, THE PILOT RADIOED CHARLESTON APPROACH CONTROL AND REQUESTED LANDING. ABOUT TWO MINUTES AFTER THE INTIAL RADIO CONTACT, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE HAD RUN OUT OF FUEL. THE APPROACH CONTROLLER IMMEDIATELY ISSUED THE PILOT RADAR VECTORS TO THE NEAREST AIRPORT. SECONDS LATER, RADIO AND RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST. WITHIN ABOUT TWO MINUTES AN EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER (ELT) SIGNAL WAS REPORTED BY ANOTHER AIRPLANE. AT APPROX. 0230, ON JANUARY 4, 2000, THE DOWNED AIRPLANE WAS LOCATED BY THE GROUND SEARCH OPERATION.

## 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 ATL00FA021](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL00FA021), Jan 4, 2000: Piper PA-24-180 (N5703P), Cordesville, SC, substantial damage, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate inflight planning that resulted in fuel exhaustion and the subsequent loss of engine power.

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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