- Date
- August 25, 1989, 17:07 local (21:07 UTC)
- Place
- Gainesville, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N2487NPiper PA-38-112
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 26, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890825034059A
- Case key
- 8057
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 misjudgement of the airplane fuel supply during preflight inspection, and his subsequent failure to monitor in-flight fuel consumption, which led to an engine power loss due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's decision not to refuel the airplane prior to the flight, and his lack of total flight experience.
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
The airplane engine experienced a loss of power during final approach, and the airplane subsequently crashed into trees short of the runway. The student plt was on a local, unsupervised solo flt and had conducted several t&g ldgs prior to the power loss. Total flt time this flt was about 1 hour. The operator reported that post-crash examination of the airplane revealed no fuel remaining in the fuel tanks. The operator noted that the airplane had been operated a total of 4.6 hrs since last refueling. He also noted that the plt who had flown the airplane on the previous flt reported that at the end of the flt, the lt & rt fuel qty gauges respectively indicated 5 gallons & less than 5 gallons remaining. The student plt reported that he had estimated the tanks were about 1/2 full when he preflighted the airplane prior to this flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2487N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-79A0870
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Belle Isle Int'L Acft Sales
- Airport
- GVL · Lee Gilmer Memorial, runway 29, 4,001 × 100 ft
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 20 total · 20 in this make and model · 5 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- AHN, 32 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.