- Date
- December 22, 2003, 17:10 local (Dec 23, 2003, 00:10 UTC)
- Place
- Edgewood, NM
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4159MPiper PA-12
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20031222033569A
- Case key
- 58523
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning and decision making. Factors contributing to the accident include the resulting fuel exhaustion, the snow covered field and the fence.
Analysis
The pilot departed the morning of the accident with an estimated 16 gallons of fuel on board. Due to headwinds, the flight duration was slightly longer than anticipated. For the afternoon return flight, the pilot diverted to the west of his route due to overcast conditions, again, extending the duration of the flight. Approximately 7 miles west of his destination, the engine lost power and the pilot made a forced landing on a snow covered field. The pilot was unable to stop the airplane prior to impacting a fence causing substantial damage. According to the FAA inspector at the scene, the fuel tanks were empty and no fuel was present in the carburetor.
Factual narrative
On December 22, 2003 at 1710 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-12, N4159M was substantially damaged when it impacted a fence during a forced landing 7 miles west of Sandia Airpark (1N1), Edgewood, New Mexico. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from Los Alamos Airport (LAM), Los Alamos, New Mexico, at 1630.
According to the accident report submitted by the pilot, he departed 1N1 for LAM (30 minutes of flight time) the morning of the accident with an estimated 16 gallons of fuel on board. Due to headwinds, the flight duration was closer to .7 hours. For the afternoon return flight to 1N1, the pilot diverted to the west of Santa Fe, New Mexico, due to overcast conditions.
Approximately 7 miles west of 1N1, the engine lost power. The pilot reported that the ground was covered with approximately 1 1/2 inches of snow. During the forced landing, the pilot was unable to stop the airplane prior to impacting a fence. The left wing tip was crushed, the left landing gear collapsed in and back towards the fuselage, the top portion of the fuselage between the wings was crushed and the propeller was bent.
According to the FAA inspector at the scene, the fuel tanks were empty and no fuel was present in the carburetor. An examination of the airplane systems revealed no anomalies. The pilot reported that due to the angle of the airplane while sitting on the ramp and the position of the fuel gauge floats, it was not possible to verify the amount of fuel in the tanks.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4159M
- Reported as
- Piper PA-12
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 12-3058
- Airframe hours
- 1,450
- Engine
- Lycoming O320-A2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 6, 2003 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- LAM · Los Alamos, NM
- Destination
- 1N1 · Edgewood, NM
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
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- November 8, 2003
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,948 total · 129 in this make and model · 2,767 as pilot in command · 60 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 360° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.19 inHg
- Observed at
- ABQ, 22 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.
Other investigations on N4159M · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.