- Date
- December 13, 2022, 10:55, time zone not recorded
- Place
- Rockingham, NC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N498DSPiper PA-38-112
- Defining event
- Approach: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- 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
- FAA report
- 20221213022399A
- Case key
- 106461
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 pilot’s improper fuel management, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power.
Findings · 3
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
According to the pilot, after flying for about 4 hours, the engine lost total power about 2 miles form the destination airport and the pilot performed a forced landing to a field, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane’s fuselage and right wing. The pilot described that the fuel consumption during the accident flight was higher than he had expected based on the fuel consumption that he had calculated on previous flights. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane after the accident and confirmed that both of the fuel tanks were absent of fuel. In the “Recommendation” section of the NTSB Pilot/Operator Accident Report, the pilot stated that “a more accurate way to determine actual fuel on board and a higher reserve might have prevented this accident.” Based on this information, it’s likely that the loss of engine power was due to fuel exhaustion.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N498DS
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-79A0668
- Built
- 1979
- Airframe hours
- 3,555
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-LCZ, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Gombey Flyers LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 3, 2021
- Departed
- SFB · Orlando, FL
- Destination
- RCZ · Rockingham, NC
- Airport
- RCZ · Richmond County
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, ADS-B, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 8, 2022
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 18,150 total · 355 in this make and model · 8,087 as pilot in command · 228 in the last 90 days · 84 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 41 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.35 inHg
- Observed at
- RCZ, 2 nm away
- METAR
- KRCZ 131515Z AUTO 05005KT 10SM CLR 05/M01 A3035 RMK AO2 T00471014
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 15, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.9 MB 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.