- Date
- November 22, 2003, 17:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Columbia, SC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N5041TPiper PA-28R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 7, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Columbia FSDO
- FAA report
- 20031122030159A
- Case key
- 58377
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's mismanagement of the fuel supply, and his inadequate preflight planning which resulted in fuel exhaustion.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to the pilot, after flying 5.2 hours, he believed there were still about 10 gallons of fuel on board the airplane. As the pilot maneuvered for an approach to Columbia -Owen Downtown Airport, the engine lost power. The pilot maneuvered for an emergency landing and the airplane collided with the ground in a residential area 1/2 mile southeast of the airport. The post-accident examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane rested in the backyard of a single family adjacent to a storage shed. The airplane was resting on its right side with the left wing perpendicular to the ground. A small quantity of fuel drained from the left wing root area. During the visual examination of the fuel tanks, no fuel was observed in either tank. According to the pilot operating handbook, approximately two gallons of the 50 gallon fuel capacity are not usable, According to the pilot, the flight departed with 50 gallons of 100 low lead aviation fuel. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane prior to the accident.
Factual narrative
On November 22, 2003, at 1700 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28R, N5041T, registered to and operated by a private pilot collided with the ground in a residential area near Columbia, South Carolina. The personal flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the pilot was not injured. The flight departed Westover Air Force Base, in Springfield, Massachusetts, at 1210 on, November 22, 2003.
According to the pilot, he departed Springfield en route to Aiken, South Carolina. After the departure, the pilot flew nonstop to Columbia, South Carolina. When the pilot established radio contact with Columbia Approach Control, the pilot requested radar vectors to the nearest airport for fuel. According to the pilot, after flying 5.2 hours, he believed there were still about 10 gallons of fuel on board the airplane. As the pilot maneuvered for an approach to Columbia -Owen Downtown Airport, the engine lost power and quit. The pilot maneuvered for an emergency landing and the airplane collided with the ground in a residential area 1/2 mile southeast of the airport.
The post-accident examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane rested in the backyard of a single family adjacent to a storage shed. The airplane was resting on its right side with the left wing perpendicular to the ground. A small quantity of fuel drained from the left wing root area. During the visual examination of the fuel tanks, no fuel was recovered from either tank. According to the pilot operating handbook, approximately two gallons of the 50 gallon fuel capacity are not usable, According to the pilot, the flight departed with 50 gallons of 100 low lead aviation fuel.
The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5041T
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-R-7235181
- Airframe hours
- 4,560
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-CIC, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Frank J. Donovan
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 2003 · 26 hours before
- Departed
- CEF · Westover AFB, MA
- Destination
- AIK · Aiken, SC
- Airport
- CUB · Columbia Owen Downtown, runway 13, 5,002 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 62
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Last flight review
- September 1, 2003
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,155 total · 482 in this make and model · 1,018 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 0 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- CAE, 12 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.