- Date
- March 21, 1991, 22:25 local (Mar 22, 1991, 04:25 UTC)
- Place
- Pasadena, TX
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N888GPiper PA-24-180
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910321006729A
- Case key
- 23253
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
Power loss due to fuel exhaustion resultant from the pilot's failure to refuel at an alternate destination and the inadvertent stall. Factors were the dark night and weather conditions.
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 airplane experienced an engine failure due to fuel exhaustion while on final between the faf and the threshold on a second ILS approach in night IMC after a flight of 5.1 hours. A missed approach was executed on the first when the pilot deviated beyond limits both in altitude and course. The pilot had flight planned 3:45 ete and indicated that he had 6:00 hours of fuel on board. The fuel exhaustion time corresponded with performance data provided in the airplane owner's handbook. Although he received a weather briefing prior to departure and obtained weather en route, the pilot did not request wind aloft information. The flight encountered 35 to 40 knot head winds throughout the trip and on 4 separate occasions the controllers asked the pilot if he had enough fuel to reach his destination. During the final leg of the flight the pilot overflew at least 3 suitable alternate airports. Following the engine failure, the pilot allowed the airplane to stall and it subsequently impacted the ground in steep nose down, left wing leading attitude.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N888G
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-545
- Airframe hours
- 3,792
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Channel Aviation, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Channel Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 23, 1990 · 77 hours before
- Departed
- LIT · Little Rock, AR
- Destination
- HPY · Baytown, TX
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- EFD · Ellington Field, runway 17, 9,000 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 39
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 510 total · 37 in this make and model · 469 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 10 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 180° at 10 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 200 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EFD, 2 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.