- Date
- July 17, 1992, 11:32 local (15:32 UTC)
- Place
- Shallotte, NC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N160MJPiper PA-30
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920717025939A
- Case key
- 8630
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 deterioration of the left main fuel bladder which resulted in the premature exhaustion of the fuel supply and the loss of engine power. A factor was soft terrain.
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 was refueled the day before the flight and the fuel tanks were checked again during the preflight inspection. The flight departed somerville, new jersey, with 90 gallons of fuel on board. The pilot computed 16 gallons of fuel usage per hour and about 5 hours of fuel endurance. About 2+45 hours into the flight the pilot switched fuel tanks and immediately he noticed a faster than normal drop on the fuel quantity gauge. The pilot informed ATC at myrtle beach of his fuel status, and elected to land at myrtle beach for fuel. Both engines quit and the pilot made a forced landing in a field about 3 miles from the airport. There was no fuel found in the fuel tanks when the airplane was examined at the accident site and there were no obvious signs of fuel leakage from the fuel tanks at the accident site or fuel stains on the airplane. However, while conducting airframe repairs, the repair facility discovered a substantial fuel leak from the left main fuel cell. Cracks, typical of aging, were discovered in the inboard corners of the fuel bladder when it was removed from the airplane. The bladder was manufactured by Piper in 1980.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N160MJ
- Reported as
- Piper PA-30
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30-1410
- Airframe hours
- 4,025
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-320-B1A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Mcviegh, Stana J.
- Registered owner
- Mcviegh, Stana J.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 6, 1991 · 34 hours before
- Departed
- N52 · Somerville, NJ
- Destination
- 49J · Hilton Head Isl, SC
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 65
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,938 total · 205 in this make and model · 1,938 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 81 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CRE, 23 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.