- Date
- July 4, 1985, 07:39 local (14:39 UTC)
- Place
- Santa Maria, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7198PPiper PA-24-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850704029879A
- Case key
- 24762
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 reported to the tower, while on base leg, that he was out of fuel. He then landed short and contacted a fence and a tree on the landing roll. The pilot stated that the aircraft contained 45 gallons of fuel when he departed and that he had flown for one hour 39 minutes when the engine lost power. Recovery personnel confirmed that the aircraft's wing tanks contained no fuel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7198P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-2369
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-A1A5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Fred Nolan
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 052 · Yuba City, CA
- Airport
- SMX · Santa Maria, runway 30, 6,300 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Seat
- Left
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SMX, 1 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.