# Accident 20000423011109A: Piper PA28181, Pinehurst, OR, April 23, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: April 23, 2000, 20:00 local time - Place: Pinehurst, OR - Airport: Pinehurst State Airport - Damage: No damage - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 42.1496° N, 122.5292° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.1496&lon=-122.5292&mi=10 - Aircraft: N55PJ, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N55PJ-2002-03-04) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-28-181 (registry code 7102807, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-181) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28181 - Fatal injuries: 0 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA00LA075](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA00LA075) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000423011109A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23)ON 4/23/2000, MR. PALMER N55PJ, FROM NICE AIR EXPRESS. NICE AIR IS A FIXED BASE OPERATOR AT REID HILLVIEW AIRPORT (RHV) IN SAN JOSE, CA. N55PJ, PILOTED BY PILOT PALMER, DEPARTED RHV AT APPROXIMATELY 1200 PDT WITH PALMER AND THREE PASSENGERS ABOARD. THE AIRCRAFT RETURNED TO RHV AFTER ONLY 25 MONUTES BECAUSE PALMER'S WIFE, ONE OF THE PASSENGERS, BECAME AIRSICK. THE AICRAFT WAS REFUELED AFTER THIS SHORT FLIGHT AND DEPARTED AGAIN FOR LSN AT APPROXIMATELY 1245 PDT WITH PALMER AND ONLY TWO PASSENGERS, HIS SON AND DAUGHTER. THE AIRCRAFT WAS FLOWN TO LOS BANOS AIRPORT, CA (LSN), APPROXIMATELY 45 MINUTES FROM RHV AND LANDED. PALMER TOLD ME THAT NO FUEL WAS TAKEN ON AT LSN. N55PJ DEPARTED LSN AT APPROXIAMTELY 1645 PDT EN ROUTE TO MEDFORD, OR (MFR). A VFR FLIGHT PLAN FOR N55PJ FROM LSN TO MFR WAS FILED WITH RANCH MURIETA AFFS AT APPROXIMATELY 1727 PDT (0027 UCT) FOR A 1645 DEPARTURE FROM LSN. THE ESTIMATED TIME EN ROUTE ON THE FILED LFIGHT PLAN WAS 2.5 HRS AT AN ALTITUDE OF 6500 FEET. APPROXIAMTELY 3.2 HRS LATER N55PJ, IN CONTAT WITH SEATTLE ARTCC FOR FLIGHT FOLLOWING, CRASH LANDED APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE NORHT OF PINEHURST STATE AIRPORT, OR (30 MILES SE OF OFR). JUST PRIOR TO THE CRASH N55PJ TOLD SEATTLE CENTER THAT HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF FUEL HE HAD, HE SAID THAT HE HAD ABOUT 20 MINTUES OF FUEL OF LESS. SEATTLE CENTER LOST RADAR CONTACT WITH N55PJ AT 1955 PDT (0225 UCT). TOTAL FUEL ABOARD N55PJ WHEN IT LEFT RHV THE FINAL TIME IS UNCLEAR. PALMER TOLD ME WHEN I TALKED TO HIM ON 4/25/00, THAT HE HAD FILLED THE TANKS FULL HIMSELF. TAKAI, THE OWNER, WAS EMPHATIC THAT PALMER DID NOT FUEL THE AIRCRAFT, THAT HE, TAKAI, HAD DONE THE REFUELING, AND THAT HE FILLED IT TO JUST THE "TABS". AVERGE FUEL COMSUMPTION FOR THIS AIRCRAFT WAS VERIFIED BY NICE AIR EXPRESS CHIEF PILOT MIKE SHIFLET AS 10.5 GPH AT 7500FT MSL AND 13 GPH AT 2000 FT MSL. A TAXI AND TAKEOFF USES AN AADDITIONAL GALLON OF FUEL. THE BEGINNING HOBBS METER TIEM READING WAS 1173.4 FOR THE FIRST DEPARTURE FROM RHV AND 1173.8 FOR THE FINAL DEPARTURE. THE ENDING HOBBS METER READING, READ AT THE CRASH SITE BY OREGON STATE POLICE TROOPER PRICE, WAS 1177.7. THE COMPUTED HOBBS METER FLIGHT TIME FROM THE LAST REFUELING AT RHV TO THE CRASH SITE WAS 3.9 HOURS. IF AN AVERAGE FUEL CONSUPTION OF 11 TO 12 GALLONS PER HOUR IS USED, ALONG WITH ONE GALLON USED FOR EACH TAKEOFF, ONE AT RHV AND ONE AT LSN, THEN THE TOTAL FUEL BURNED SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT 45 TO 48 GALLONS.^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ PALMER RECEIVED HIS PRIVATE PILOT'S CERTIFICATE ON 12/05/1999. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ADDITIONALY, UPON ARRIVAL IN THE MEDFORD AREA PALMER REPORTED TO ARTCC THAT HE WAS HAVING TO MANEUVER OVER AND AROUND CLOUDS IN HIS ATTEMPT TO FIND VMC ACCESS TO MEDFORD. OREGON STATE POLICE INVESTIGATORS ATTHE CRASH SIGHT REPORTED THAT ONLY 1-2 GALLONS OF FUEL REMAINED IN THE WINGTANKS AND THE TANKS WERE IN TACT WITH NO LEAKAGE APPARENT. THIS AMOUNT OF FUEL EQUATES TO THE UNUSABLE AMOUNT OF FUEL TYPICAL OF THIS MODEL OF AIRCRAFT. THIS COMBINATION OF CIRCUMSTANCES FURTHER SUPPORT THE FUEL STARVATION SCENARIO. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ## 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 SEA00LA075](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA00LA075), Apr 24, 2000: Piper PA-28-181 (N55PJ), Ashland, OR, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to refuel the airplane, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Unsuitable terrain for a landing was a contributing factor. 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.