- Date
- October 5, 1993, 16:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Frankfort, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6862ZPiper PA-25-235
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 25, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19931005038559A
- Case key
- 9406
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 failure to perform refueling.
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
The pilot of a glider tow plane descended for landing at home field. The engine quit due to fuel exhaustion and the airplane landed short of the runway.
Factual narrative
On October 5, 1993, about 1600 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-25-235 airplane, N6862Z, operated by Northwest Soaring Club experienced loss of engine power during descent and landed short of the runway at Frankfort, Michigan. The solo commercial pilot reported no injury. The airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions existed for the glider tow flight. The local flight originated about 1550 without a flight plan and operated under 14 CFR 91.
The pilot reported the engine quit due to fuel exhaustion. No mechanical malfunction or failure was reported or found. When examined, the airplane contained less than a gallon of fuel and the fuel gage read empty.
The pilot obtained a checkout in model the day before the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6862Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-25-235
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25-2548
- Airframe hours
- 5,350
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-A1D5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Northwest Soaring Club
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 30, 1993 · 29 hours before
- Departed
- 3D4
- Destination
- 3D4
- Airport
- 3D4 · Frankfort City-County, runway 32, 3,250 × 50 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
- 25
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 426 total · 3 in this make and model · 362 as pilot in command · 47 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
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 N6862Z · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.