- Date
- September 6, 1990, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Smithfield, NC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7169ZWSK PZL-104
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900906038649A
- Case key
- 8270
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 failure to properly preflight fuel requirements for the additional landing. The engine quit due to 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
After several landings, the pilot decided to continue the flight with additional landings. However, before the takeoff, they realized that fuel was critical, so they elected to fly a tight traffic pattern. The engine quit on downwind. The pilot attempted a forced landing to the runway, but collided with trees short of the runway. The pilot failed to plan fuel requirements for this series of landings.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7169Z
- Reported as
- WSK PZL-104
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- CF 20900890
- Airframe hours
- 11
- Engine
- Pzl-Okecie AII4RA, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Melex USA Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 23, 1990 · 11 hours before
- Airport
- JNX · Johnson County, runway 21, 4,900 × 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
- 48
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 2,292 total · 70 in this make and model · 2,150 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 7 knots, gusting 1
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RDU, 35 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.