- Date
- November 16, 1990, 16:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Milton, KY
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6996APiper PA-23-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 8, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901116065179A
- Case key
- 11646
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 in-flight failure of both engines due to the pilot's mismanagement of the fuel system.
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 climbing to its cruise altitude when first the left engine sputtered and quit, then the right engine quit. The pilot made a forced landing in a field and the airplane struck a ditch. Post-accident examination revealed that the outboard fuel tanks were empty, while the inboard fuel tanks held fuel. The pilot stated that the fuel selectors were in the outboard position and that fuel mismanagment had resulted in the loss of engine power.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6996A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 27-8054012
- Airframe hours
- 3,535
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-C4B5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Harvey Gilman
- Registered owner
- Unknown
- Last inspection
- Unknown · September 28, 1990 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- LOU · Louisville, KY
- Destination
- HAO · Hamilton, OH
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
- 27
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 2,630 total · 24 in this make and model · 2,437 as pilot in command · 84 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.