- Date
- August 16, 2002, 13:40 local (19:40 UTC)
- Place
- Boulder, CO
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9791PPiper PA-25-235
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 18, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20020816023699A
- Case key
- 55512
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 preparation, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent loss of engine power, and his failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the forced landing, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/mush. Factors included the changing wind conditions, the high density altitude, and the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.
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 said that he checked his flight time and fuel gauges (including fuel low level indicator light) before takeoff. While towing a glider, he experienced fuel exhaustion. He performed a forced landing to an open field, but the wind changed from a estimated 15 to 20 knots to no wind situation when he got close to the ground. The airplane stalled from about 8 or 10 feet, hit the ground, and nosed over. The engine was crushed back, and the left wing was separated from the fuselage. The calculated density altitude was 11,361 feet.
Factual narrative
On August 16, 2002, at approximately 1340 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-25-235, N9791P, was destroyed during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Boulder, Colorado. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, received minor injuries. Mile High Gliding Inc. was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the glider-towing local flight which originated from Boulder Municipal Airport approximately 30 minutes before the accident. The pilot had not filed a flight plan.
The pilot said that he checked his flight time and fuel gauges (including fuel low level indicator light) before takeoff. He said that while towing a glider, he experienced fuel exhaustion. The pilot said he performed a forced landing to an open field, but the wind changed from a estimated 15 to 20 knots to no wind situation when he got close to the ground. He said that the airplane stalled from about 8 or 10 feet, hit the ground, and nosed over. The engine was crushed back, and the left wing was separated from the fuselage.
The density altitude was calculated to be 11,361 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9791P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-25-235
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- PA-25-235
- Airframe hours
- 9,478
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-GIAS, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Mile High Gliding Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 31, 2002 · 98 hours before
- Departed
- 1V5 · Boulder, CO
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
- 38
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- December 1, 2000
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 1,417 total · 228 in this make and model · 1,361 as pilot in command · 242 in the last 90 days · 101 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 99 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- BJC, 15 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.