- Date
- March 8, 2018, 20:15 local (Mar 9, 2018, 02:15 UTC)
- Place
- Big Spring, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8191BPiper PA 32R
- Defining event
- Enroute: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report August 27, 2018
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20180308001579A
- Case key
- 96845
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 failure to manage the airplane’s fuel supply, which resulted in fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to attempt the flight with an inoperative fuel gauge.
Findings · 4
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, although the airplane's fuel gauge was providing intermittent information, he decided to depart on a night cross-country flight. During the flight, the engine lost power. The pilot declared an emergency and selected a road to land on. During the landing, the airplane struck power line wires, impacted the ground, and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the engine mounts, the rudder and the horizontal stabilizer. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration Aviation safety inspector revealed that the fuel selector was set to the right-wing tank, and there was no usable fuel in the right-wing tank. The left-wing tank contained usable fuel. Per Title 14 CFR 91.205, no person may operate a powered civil aircraft with a standard category US airworthiness certificate with an inoperative fuel gauge.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that although the airplane's fuel gauge was intermittent, he decided to depart on a night cross-country flight, and during the flight the engine lost power. He declared an emergency and selected a road to land on. During the landing, the airplane struck powerline wires and impacted the ground and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the engine mounts, the rudder and the horizontal stabilizer. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector revealed that the fuel selector was set to the right-wing tank, and there was no usable fuel in the right-wing tank. The left-wing tank contained usable fuel. Per 14 CFR 91.205, no person may operate a powered civil aircraft with a standard category U.S. airworthiness certificate with an inoperative fuel gauge.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8191B
- Reported as
- Piper PA 32R (301T)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32R-8029084
- Built
- 1980
- Airframe hours
- 2,812.51
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO540S1AD, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 11, 2017
- Departed
- GTU · Georgetown, TX
- Destination
- MDD · Midland, TX
- Airport
- MDD · Midland Airpark
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, Electronic primary flight display, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system
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
- 33
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 10, 2016
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 530 total · 240 in this make and model · 530 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 160° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- KMDD
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 19, 2018, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.3 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.