- Date
- July 5, 1989, 21:07 local (Jul 6, 1989, 04:07 UTC)
- Place
- Merced, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N8212YPiper PA-30B-160
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 26, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890705019769A
- Case key
- 26439
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 preflight planning/preparation, resulting in fuel exhaustion.
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
After filling the acft fuel tanks, the pilot tookoff for his return flight to his home arpt. The right engine lost power from fuel exhaustion approximately 50 nauitical miles from his destination. The pilot turned towards an aprt in his vicinity. As the acft approached the rwy of intended landing the left engine lost power. The acft impacted the terrain about one half mile short of the rwy.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8212Y
- Reported as
- Piper PA-30B-160
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30-1339
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-B1A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Larry A. Lamb
- Departed
- ECS · Newcastle, WY
- Destination
- 307 · Hollister, CA
- Airport
- MCE · Merced Muni, runway 30, 5,903 × 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
- 42
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 724 total · 154 in this make and model · 670 as pilot in command · 47 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 330° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- MER, 7 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.