- Date
- July 3, 2014, 08:00 local (13:00 UTC)
- Place
- Rhinelander, WI
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8730LPiper PA 25-235
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 14, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20140703011179A
- Case key
- 89619
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
A loss of engine power due to the pilot's improper inflight planning and reliance of fuel gauge readings, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
A pre-flight inspection of the airplane before an aerial application flight revealed the airplane's fuel tank quantity was 3/4 full of fuel. Two aerial application flights lasted approximately one hour. The aircraft was loaded a third time. The loader inquired if the aircraft needed fuel. The pilot checked the fuel gauge and informed the loader that there was slightly less than 1/2 tank. He said that the airplane would require fuel on the next load. The aircraft departed and flew for approximately 10 minutes. The engine stopped producing power, the pilot jettisoned the load, and he performed a forced landing on an adjacent field. The airplane nosed over and sustained substantial wing, fuselage, and empennage damage. No fuel was found on-scene in the airplane's fuel tanks or under the inverted airplane. Fuel was added to the fuel tank and the engine operated. According to the Federal Aviation Administration publication, The Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, "aircraft certification rules require accuracy in fuel gauges only when they read 'empty.' Any reading other than 'empty' should be verified. Do not depend solely on the accuracy of the fuel quantity gauges."
Factual narrative
A pre-flight inspection of the airplane before an aerial application flight revealed the airplane's fuel tank quantity was 3/4 full of fuel. Two aerial application flights lasted approximately one hour. The aircraft was loaded a third time. The loader inquired if the aircraft needed fuel. The pilot checked the fuel gauge and informed the loader that there was slightly less than 1/2 tank. He said that the airplane would require fuel on the next load. The aircraft departed and flew for approximately 10 minutes. The engine stopped producing power, the pilot jettisoned the load, and he performed a forced landing on an adjacent field. The airplane nosed over and sustained substantial wing, fuselage, and empennage damage. No fuel was found on-scene in the airplane's fuel tanks or under the inverted airplane. Fuel was added to the fuel tank and the engine operated. According to the Federal Aviation Administration publication, The Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, "aircraft certification rules require accuracy in fuel gauges only when they read 'empty.' Any reading other than 'empty' should be verified. Do not depend solely on the accuracy of the fuel quantity gauges."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8730L
- Reported as
- Piper PA 25-235
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25-5191
- Built
- 1969
- Airframe hours
- 14,562
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-B2C5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Walker Aviation LLC
- Registered owner
- Walker Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 20, 2014
- Departed
- Rhinelander, WI
- Destination
- Rhinelander, WI
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
- 44
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 12, 2014
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 336 total · 53 in this make and model · 261 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- KRHI, 11 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 7, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.