# NTSB ERA23LA083: Piper PA-44, N160PT, Hawkinsville, GA, December 9, 2022 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: December 9, 2022, 21:00, time zone not recorded - Place: Hawkinsville, GA - Coordinates: 32.303938, -83.426176 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.3039&lon=-83.4262&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Fuel exhaustion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 106438 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA23LA083 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/106438/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=106438 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA23LA083 ## Probable cause The pilot’s inadequate in-flight decision-making, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-44-180, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=7104402), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid level (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-44-180, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=7104402), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Fuel exhaustion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-44-180, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192/sequence.md?model=7104402), [All aircraft, 804 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192/sequence.md) - [Enroute-descent: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341); cases with it: [Piper PA-44-180, 7 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=7104402), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Enroute-descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Piper PA-44-180, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=7104402), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot of the twin engine-equipped airplane reported that while on an instrument flight rules cross-country flight at night, he became concerned about the amount of fuel aboard and considered stopping for fuel. About the time he became aware of the fuel state, the airplane encountered instrument meteorological conditions and his attention was diverted from finding an alternate airport to maintaining his flight path. When air traffic control cleared the pilot to go direct to the initial approach fix at his destination airport, the airplane experienced an uncommanded right yaw. The pilot recognized that the right engine experienced a total loss of power and he began to secure that engine. He declared an emergency and requested radar vectors to the nearest airport. Then, the left engine began to “sputter” and experienced a total loss of power. The pilot reported that he “was sure that it was fuel exhaustion.” Unable to glide to an airport, the pilot aimed for the darkest landscape, to avoid any ground injuries, and the airplane impacted terrain resulting in substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. Post-accident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector noted no smell of fuel or indications of fuel present at the accident site. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Based on this information, it is likely that the pilot exhausted the available fuel supply, with resulted in a total loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N160PT](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N160PT), registered now, S/N 44-7995161, built 1978 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-44 (180) - Registry model: [Piper PA-44-180](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-44-180) (registry code 7104402) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O&VO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (registry code 41514, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 44-7995161 - Year built: 1978 - Airframe hours: 10003 - Engines: LYCOMING VO-360 180 horsepower reciprocating; LYCOMING O-360 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Pilot Training Center LLC - Registered owner: Pilot Training Center LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 22, 2022, 45 hours before - Departed: KTMB, Miami, FL - Destination: KMCN, Macon, GA - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: 51A, Hawkinsville-Pulaski County - Equipment: Stall warning system, ADS-B ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 52; injuries: minor; flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review September 9, 2021; seat: right; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 1,650 total, 320 in this make and model, 1,500 as pilot in command, 10 in the last 90 days, 8 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night/dark - Wind: 50° at 4 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 7,000 ft broken - Temperature: 66 °F, dew point 64 °F - Altimeter: 30.11 inHg - Turbulence: Light - Observed at: EZM, 16 nm away - METAR: METAR KEZM 100155Z AUTO 05004KT 10SM SCT055 BKN070 OVC080 19/18 A3011 RMK AO2 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20221209022939A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20221209022939A), Dec 9, 2022: Piper PA-44-180, Hawkinsville, GA, Destroyed. Airman file a IFR flight plan from miami, FL [ktmb] to macon, GA. [Kmcn]. At approximately 16:52 airman departed ktmb at approximately 21:00 aircraft crash… ## Docket (6 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 13, 2023, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=106438. 17.9 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 - PIC (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 2.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14880430&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=1%20NTSB%206120.1%20PIC_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 - operator (item 2, PDF, 11 pages, 4.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14882655&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB_N160PT_RK_Sign%20Operator_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Memorandum for record a�� telephone interview, pilot (item 3, PDF, 3 pages, 249 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14880512&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=2%20Memorandum%20For%20Record%20PIC%20interview-Rel.pdf - Pilot's statement to FAA (item 4, PDF, 3 pages, 3.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14879686&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=3%20Pilot%20Statement%20to%20FAA_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Memorandum for record a�� fuel state (item 5, PDF, 1 page, 227 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14880440&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=4%20Memorandum%20For%20Record%20FAA%20Inspector%20(Fuel)-Rel.pdf - Photographs (item 6, PDF, 6 pages, 6.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14880009&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=5%20Photo%20Array-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.