- Date
- January 29, 1992, 18:40 local (23:40 UTC)
- Place
- East Taunton, MA
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N8379NPiper PA-28-161
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report August 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920129057019A
- Case key
- 11761
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
Inadequate preflight by the dual student and inadequate supervision by the instructor pilot (CFI), which resulted in fuel exhaustion due to an inadequate supply of fuel.
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
During an approach to the airport, the engine lost power. An emergency landing was attempted on runway 12, but the airplane clipped trees, hit a house and collided with terrain/water short of the runway. According to airport fueling records and the hobbs meter reading, the airplane had flown for approximately 5.2 hours since it last received fuel. An on scene investigation revealed there was no residual fuel in the carburetor, and approximately one pint of fuel was found in the fuel tanks.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8379N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-161
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-8116213
- Airframe hours
- 3,663
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D3G, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- King Aviation Services
- Registered owner
- Dave Collins, Jr. Dave Collins
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 31, 1991 · 42 hours before
- Airport
- TAN · Taunton Muni, runway 12, 3,486 × 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
- 23
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 492 total · 201 in this make and model · 338 as pilot in command · 128 in the last 90 days · 46 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 290° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 37 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PVD, 20 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.