- Date
- June 2, 1991, 19:14 local (Jun 3, 1991, 02:14 UTC)
- Place
- Stockton, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9283TPiper PA38-112
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 27, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910602018789A
- Case key
- 27230
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
That the pilot-in-command used poor preflight planning, inflight decision, and fuel consumption calculations. Contributing to this accident was 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
The initiating PIC elected to put minimal fuel on board for the planned flight to columbia airport, columbia, CA. The CFI who was going to occupy the left front seat agreed. Upon approaching columbia the initiating PIC attempted to call the UNICOM but received no response. The initiating PIC with the concurrence of the CFI diverted towards calveras county airport. The initiating PIC attempted to contact calveras county UNICOM but to no avail. The CFI assumed command of the airplane and diverted toward Stockton. While approaching Stockton the engine sustained a total loss of power due to fuel exhaustion. The CFI elected to land in an open crop field. The airplane collided with the soft terrain during the landing roll-out.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9283T
- Reported as
- Piper PA38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-78A0318
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James A. Fikes
- Registered owner
- James A. Fikes
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- FAT · Fresno, CA
- Destination
- AUN · Auburn, CA
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 550 total · 320 in this make and model · 400 as pilot in command · 70 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SCK, 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.