- Date
- September 16, 2007, 22:30 local (Sep 17, 2007, 03:30 UTC)
- Place
- Taylor, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6017PPiper PA-24-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- San Antonio, Texas
- Case key
- 66686
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 loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as result of the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision. Contributing factors were the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing and the dark night.
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 2,000-hour private pilot reported that his single-engine airplane lost power while at altitude of 8,000 feet MSL during a night VFR flight. As a precaution, the pilot elected to initiate the descent to his destination airport after successfully restarting the engine. While descending to the airport, the engine lost power a second time and the pilot elected to perform a gear-up forced landing to an open field 2 nautical miles north east of his intended destination. Additionally, the pilot noted that the right fuel gauge indicated one-fourth full and the left fuel gauge indicated an unknown low amount of fuel. The airplane sustained structural damage during the forced landing. The 3 occupants reported that they were able to egress from the airplane unassisted. Having flown this route multiple times, the pilot stated that he always landed with 45 minutes of fuel in reserve. The pilot added that the fuel gauges on his airplane were usually accurate and he was unaware of his low fuel condition until after the engine lost power the second time. The FAA investigators that responded to the accident site reported that both the left and right fuel tanks had been exhausted. Weather at the destination airport 5 minutes after the mishap was reported as calm winds, visibility 10 statute miles, with clear skies, temperature 23 degrees Celsius, dew point 18 degrees Celsius, and altimeter 30.08 inches of Mercury.
Factual narrative
The 2,000-hour private pilot reported that his single-engine airplane lost power while at altitude of 8,000 feet MSL during a night VFR flight. As a precaution, the pilot elected to initiate the descent to his destination airport after successfully restarting the engine. While descending to the airport, the engine lost power a second time and the pilot elected to perform a gear-up forced landing to an open field 2 nautical miles north east of his intended destination. Additionally, the pilot noted that the right fuel gauge indicated one-fourth full and the left fuel gauge indicated an unknown low amount of fuel. The airplane sustained structural damage during the forced landing. The 3 occupants reported that they were able to egress from the airplane unassisted. Having flown this route multiple times, the pilot stated that he always landed with 45 minutes of fuel in reserve. The pilot added that the fuel gauges on his airplane were usually accurate and he was unaware of his low fuel condition until after the engine lost power the second time. The FAA investigators that responded to the accident site reported that both the left and right fuel tanks had been exhausted. Weather at the destination airport 5 minutes after the mishap was reported as calm winds, visibility 10 statute miles, with clear skies, temperature 23 degrees Celsius, dew point 18 degrees Celsius, and altimeter 30.08 inches of Mercury.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6017P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-1112
- Airframe hours
- 3,830
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Charles D. Wiseman
- Registered owner
- Charles D. & Heath E. Wiseman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 1, 2006
- Departed
- 81N2 · Greenwood, IN
- Destination
- Taylor, TX
- Flight plan
- VFR/IFR
- Airport
- T74 · Taylor Muni
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
- 58
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2
- Last flight review
- December 1, 2004
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 500 in this make and model · 2,000 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 170° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- T74
Other investigations on N6017P · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.