- Date
- August 11, 1990, 08:42 local (14:42 UTC)
- Place
- Bingham, NM
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5470PPiper PA-24-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900811033409A
- Case key
- 17978
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 fuel exhaustion induced power loss. Factors were the pilot's failure to refuel and the unsuitable terrain in which the forced landing was performed.
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 private pilot reported the engine quit at cruise while on a cross country flight. He made an emergency landing in a field covered with madrona cedar brush. The wings struck the brush, tore half the left wing off, bent the right wing back and bent the fuselage behind the cabin. The pilot said he flew 3 hours and 15 minutes, and should have had fuel left. The investigation revealed no fuel in the aircraft's tanks, and no fuel spill. The investigation could not verify the takeoff time, amount of fuel on board, or the exact time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5470P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- PA-24-527
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-A1A5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- A&E Services Inc
- Departed
- L15 · Henderson, NV
- Destination
- ATS · Artesia, NM
- Airport
- NONE
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 352 total · 14 in this make and model · 294 as pilot in command · 37 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.