- Date
- August 7, 1988, 17:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Racine, WV
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4873TPiper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 2, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880807030779A
- Case key
- 11430
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 pilot was on the first leg of a ferry flight to west germany. The aircraft was about 30 miles from charleston when the pilot noticed the fuel gauges indicated about 5 & 11 gals respectively remaining in the left & right fuel tanks. He proceeded to charleston, while switching tank positions, before fuel exhaustion occurred about 15 miles from charleston. He made a forced landing on a road with the right wing striking a power line during the landing approach. Examination of the aircraft revealed the tanks were empty. The aircraft was equipped with an extra fuel tank with a 28 gal capacity. The aircraft was airborne about eight hours.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4873T
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7205212
- Airframe hours
- 1,240
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A3A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Operator
- Richard Doellein
- Registered owner
- Buster, Colman, Douglas,Esbay
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 20, 1988 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- F54 · Arlington, TX
- Destination
- CRW · Charleston, WV
- Airport
- CRW · Yeager, runway 33, 4,750 × 150 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
- 40
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 420 total · 8 in this make and model · 330 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CRW
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N4873T · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.