- Date
- June 18, 2011, 23:45 local (Jun 19, 2011, 03:45 UTC)
- Place
- Ridgeville, SC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N177SCPiper PA18-160
- Defining event
- Enroute: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report December 19, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20110618013349A
- Case key
- 80856
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
A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate fuel planning.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot stated that he filled the airplane's fuel tanks to capacity, a total of 36 gallons, prior to departing on the flight to the banner-tow site, which was approximately 2 hours away. After picking up the banner, he flew the banner for about 35 minutes before dropping it back at the airport. He then departed to an airport approximately 27 miles away in order to refuel the airplane. After landing at the airport, the pilot found the fuel pump locked and departed to a second airport approximately 20 miles away. The pilot stated that the weather began to deteriorate and he decided to turn around. The pilot then elected to divert to a third airport. Approximately 7 miles from the airport, the airplane’s engine lost all power. The pilot conducted a forced landing to a railroad track and, during the landing rollout, the airplane's right wing impacted a pole. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing. After a Federal Aviation Administration inspector supplied fuel to the engine during a postaccident examination, the engine started and ran with no anomalies. The pilot stated that he ran out of fuel.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that he filled the airplane's fuel tanks to capacity, a total of 36 gallons, prior to departing on the flight to the banner tow site, which was approximately 2 hours away. After picking up the banner, he flew the banner for about 35 minutes before dropping it back at the airport. He then departed to an airport approximately 27 miles away in order to refuel the airplane. After landing at the airport, the pilot found the fuel pump locked and departed to a second airport approximately 20 miles away. The pilot stated that the weather began to deteriorate, and he decided to turn around. The pilot then elected to divert to a third airport. Approximately seven miles from the airport, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot conducted a forced landing to a railroad track, and during the landing rollout, the airplane's right wing impacted a pole. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing. During postaccident examination of the airplane, a Federal Aviation Administration inspector plumbed fuel to the engine, after which it started and ran with no anomalies.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N177SC
- Reported as
- Piper PA18-160
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-7709165
- Airframe hours
- 5,822
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Banner tow · Part 91
- Operator
- Atlanta Aerial Billboards
- Registered owner
- H. Gould Barret
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 30, 2011
- Departed
- LZU · Lawrenceville, GA
- Destination
- 6J2 · St. George, GA
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
- 31
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 5, 2011
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,500 total · 1,300 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- DYB, 3 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 17, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 276 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.