- Date
- October 16, 2020, 19:20 local (23:20 UTC)
- Place
- Beloit, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N15608Piper PA-28
- Defining event
- Enroute: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20201016018639A
- Case key
- 102163
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 pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection and inflight planning that resulted in a total loss of engine power due to 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
The pilot reported that he did not adequately verify the required fuel was onboard during the preflight inspection. After completing a local flight, while on approach for landing, the engine lost total power and the pilot made a forced landing that resulted in damage to the fuselage, right wing leading edge, and both ailerons. He initially assumed the cause of the engine power loss was carburetor icing. A postaccident examination revealed the fuel tanks were intact and empty. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. He added that the airplane had not been refueled after a previous flight as he had assumed and attributed his oversight during the preflight inspection to complacency and rushing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N15608
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28 (140)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7345112
- Built
- 1972
- Airframe hours
- 3,915
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E3D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Fluid Process Automated LLC
- Registered owner
- Fluid Process Automated LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 7, 2020 · 26.1 hours before
- Departed
- 62D · Warren, OH
- Destination
- K3G6 · Beloit, OH
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, ADS-B, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 27, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 279 total · 130 in this make and model · 235 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 310° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- KCAK, 19 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 27, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.4 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.