- Date
- June 24, 2015, 19:00 local (Jun 25, 2015, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Charles City, IA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5152PPiper PA 24
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report October 8, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Case key
- 91434
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 inadequate pre-flight fuel planning resulting in fuel exhaustion and a collision with terrain.
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
The pilot reported that during a cross-country flight, "the airplane had a complete loss of engine power", and that he made several attempts to restart the engine that were unsuccessful. The pilot made a forced landing in a field where the airplane came to rest after impacting terrain. A post-accident inspection by Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspectors revealed that the airplane did not have any usable fuel remaining in its tanks at the time of impact, and that the fuel tanks were undamaged. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during a cross-country flight, "the airplane had a complete loss of engine power", and that he made several attempts to restart the engine that were unsuccessful. The pilot made a forced landing in a field where the airplane came to rest after impacting terrain. A post-accident inspection by Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspectors revealed that the airplane did not have any usable fuel remaining in its tanks at the time of impact, and that the fuel tanks were undamaged. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5152P
- Reported as
- Piper PA 24
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-168
- Built
- 1958
- Airframe hours
- 5,288
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Celebrations Aviation LLC
- Registered owner
- Celebrations Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 6, 2014 · 57 hours before
- Departed
- 00MN · Battle Lake, MN
- Destination
- OLZ · Oelwein, IA
- Airport
- CCY · Charles City Regional
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, 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
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 12, 2014
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 1,032.5 total · 332.6 in this make and model · 26.6 in the last 90 days · 14.1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 140° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,100 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- KCCY, 2 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 24, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.4 MB in all.