- Date
- September 30, 2024, 13:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Pierz, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2032MPiper PA-32-300
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Fuel starvation
- 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
- FAA report
- 20240930015709A
- Case key
- 195231
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 fuel management which resulted in the loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
Findings · 4
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 once reaching cruising altitude, he switched the fuel selector to the right wing tip fuel tank. About 10 to 15 minutes later, the engine lost partial power. The pilot turned on the fuel pump, but he did not switch fuel tanks. The engine continued to lose power; the pilot declared an emergency and diverted to the nearest airport. Unable to reach the nearest airport, the pilot conducted a forced landing to a roadway. During the landing, the airplane veered left into the ditch to avoid oncoming motor vehicle traffic. The right wing struck a roadway sign, which resulted in substantial damage, and the airplane came to rest upright in the grass. The pilot stated that he did not switch fuel tanks during the initial loss of engine power, and that he ran the right wing tip fuel tank dry.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2032M
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-7840077
- Built
- 1978
- Airframe hours
- 3,587
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Kab Air LLC
- Registered owner
- Kab Air LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 2, 2024 · 91.3 hours before
- Departed
- 9Y2 · East Gull Lake, MN
- Destination
- FCM · Minneapolis, MN
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, Auto-pilot, Angle of attack indicator, ADS-B, 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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 20, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 700 total · 288 in this make and model · 700 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 10 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.78 inHg
- Icing
- Unknown
- Turbulence
- Unknown
- Observed at
- KLXL, 10 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KLXL 301855Z AUTO 21010G14KT 10SM CLR 25/12 A2978 RMK AO2=
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 10, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.4 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.
Other investigations on N2032M · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.