- Date
- August 12, 2022, 15:57 local (20:57 UTC)
- Place
- Kearney, NE
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5253PPiper PA-24-250
- Defining event
- Enroute: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20220812014499A
- Case key
- 105734
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 in-flight planning that resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Findings · 2
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 while on a short cross-country flight and near his destination airport, the airplane’s engine lost power. The pilot subsequently performed a wheels-up landing on a gravel road. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right side of the fuselage. A postaccident inspection of the airplane at the accident site revealed that both wing fuel tanks were empty. No other preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions were found with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The loss of engine power was due to fuel exhaustion.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5253P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-285
- Built
- 1958
- Airframe hours
- 3,303
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Whitten Ranch Inc
- Registered owner
- Whitten Ranch Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 14, 2021
- Departed
- CZD · Cozad, NE
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- KEAR
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 12, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 687 total · 119 in this make and model · 10 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- KEAR, 4 nm away
- METAR
- KEAR 122056Z AUTO 19013KT 10SM 34/17 A3005 RMK AO2 SLP155 T03390172
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 13, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 735 KB 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.