- Date
- May 11, 1992, 16:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Terrell, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7152DPiper PA-22-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 16, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920511014429A
- Case key
- 18491
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 alcoholic impairment of efficiency and judgement which led to his inattention to the amount of fuel remaining in the left fuel tank, resulting in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power. A factor in the accident was the existence of the power line.
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 pilot stated that he switched to the left tank for his descent to pattern altitude. At 800 ft the engine stopped. He switched back to the right tank but was unable to restart the engine. During the forced landing the landing gear caught a power line & the airplane landed hard collapsing the nose gear. The left tank was found empty and the right tank nearly full. Texas department of public safety personnel at the site noted an 'overwhelming smell of alcohol' coming from the pilot. The pilot submitted to a portable breath tester on-scene, and it showed the pilot to have a 0.149% blood alcohol concentration.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7152D
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-5016
- Airframe hours
- 1,840
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A1A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Tristate Trim Line
- Registered owner
- Tristate Trim Line
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 13, 1991 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Klutts Field, TX
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
- 65
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 276 total · 10 in this make and model · 6 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 25 knots, gusting 35
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RBD, 32 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.