# Incident 20020822023809I: Piper PA28140, Elizabethton, TN, August 22, 2002

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 22, 2002, 23:00 local time
- Place: Elizabethton, TN
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.3396° N, 82.2378° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Elizabethton, TN, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.3396&lon=-82.2378&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6977W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6977W-2017-11-28) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-140 (registry code 7102802, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-140) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28140
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 475 total, 350 in this make and model, 25 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020822023809I

## Narrative

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

(-23) A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION WITH THE PILOT INDICATED THAT THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT THE TRI-CITIES AIRPORT, JOHNSON CITY TENNESSEE. HE WAS TO FLY TO KNOXVILLE, TN, AND RETURN TO TRI-CITIES. HIS PASSENGER ON THE LEG TO KNOXVILLE WAS HIS WIFE. THE FLIGHT BACK TO TRI-CITIES WOULD INCLUDE HIS FATHER, WHICH WAS SCHEDULE FOR CANCER TREATMENT. HE LANDED IN KNOXVILLE, TN ROUTINELY. UPON PRE-FLIGHT FOR DEPARTURE BACK TO TRI-CITIES AIRPORT HE NOTICED THE FUEL DRAIN DRIPPING, HE ENGAGED THE FUEL DRAIN SEVERAL TIMES AND THE LEAK STOPPED. WHILE DEPARTING THE KNOXVILLE AREA THE PILOT NOTICED THE INSTRUMENT LIGHTS GOING DIM AND THE TRANSPONDER WAS BREAKING UP. KNOXVILLE TOWER DIRECTED HIM TO CHANGE TRANSPONDER FREQUENCIES BUT THE TRANSMISSION WAS TOO POOR TO PICK UP THE IDENT. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE LOST LIGHTS AND INSTRUMENTS, WHICH WERE OPERATED BY ELECTRIC POWER. HE THEN NOTICED THAT THE RT. FUEL GUAGE WAS READING E AND HE IMMEDIATELY SWITCHED TO THE LEFT TANK KNOWING THAT IT WAS HALF FULL. (HE HAD PHYSICALLY CHECKED THE TANK). HE WAS FOLLOWING THE ROADS AND STARTED TO LOOK FOR THE NEXT INTERSTATE AND GOT DISORIENTED. HE DECIDED TO MAKE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING ON A ROAD. HE CIRCLED THE ROAD SEVERAL TIMES AND NOTICED A TRAFFIC LIGHT AND FEW CARS WERE TRAVELING THE ROAD. HE LANDED BEHIND THE LAST VEHICLE 200 TO 300 FEET AND COASTED TO A STOP. THE AIRCRAFT WAS TOWED TO THE ELIZABETHON AIRPORT APPROXIMATELY 4 MILES AWAY AND MECHANIC INDICATED A CHARGING PROBLEM. THE PILOT STATED THAT THE ENGINE RAN NORMAL FOR THE DURATION OF THE FLIGHT.

## Other reports on N6977W (2)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 20170626011209A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170626011209A), Jun 26, 2017: Piper PA-28-140 (N6977W), Substantial damage. Landing runway 36 (N30) Cherry Ridge. Touchdown and a gust of wind caused the pilot to lose control, and turn to the left. Aircraft crossed over a drainage…
- [Incident 20051213033079I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20051213033079I), Dec 13, 2005: Piper PA28140 (N6977W), Bristol-Johnson, TN, Minor damage. (-23) Aircraft porpoised on landing, nose gear failed.

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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