- Date
- March 29, 1991, 19:14 local (Mar 30, 1991, 01:14 UTC)
- Place
- Franklin, TN
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 2 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7457PPiper PA-24-250
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 24, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910329007899A
- Case key
- 8317
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 select a proper fuel tank for flight, resulting in fuel starvation to the engine, and subsequent engine stoppage. Factors were the pilot's inadequate evaluation of the weather conditions along his route of flight, and his flight into known adverse weather conditions (icing).
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 private pilot was on an IFR flight to st. louis. While approaching the nashville, TN. Area, he encountered icing conditions, and requested a descent. The icing persisted, so he requested an ILS approach to nashville. The aircraft crashed about 12 miles ssw of the nashville airport, after the pilot reported that he had lost power, and was stalling. An inspection of the wreckage revealed that the left, auxiliary fuel tank was empty of fuel, and the fuel selector valve was still in the 'left aux' tank position. No evidence of pre-existing mechanical malfunction or failure was found.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7457P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-2647
- Airframe hours
- 2,240
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-A1D5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Hannasch, Thomas P.
- Registered owner
- Hannasch, Thomas P.
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 25, 1991 · 29 hours before
- Departed
- LZU · Lawrenceville, GA
- Destination
- SUS · St. Louis, MO
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- BNA · Nashville Intl., runway 2, 7,702 × 150 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
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 693 total · 41 in this make and model · 500 as pilot in command · 41 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 340° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BNA, 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.