- Date
- September 15, 1991, 15:50 local (22:50 UTC)
- Place
- Tehachapi, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8888PPiper PA-24-260
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 23, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910915040039A
- Case key
- 27359
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
Fuel exhaustion due to improper inflight planning.
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 departed on a cross country flight knowing he did not have enough fuel in the fuel tanks to reach his destination. But he wanted to run them dry to check the calibration enroute for an annual inspection. Because of his altitude, he overflew his first choice for refueling, during which time his fuel quantity indication was erratic. As he started his letdown for his second choice for landing his engine quit. He attempted a landing in a cow pasture and collided with small berms.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8888P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-260
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-4262
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James W. Hager
- Registered owner
- James W. Hager
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- OAK · Oakland, CA
- Destination
- L12 · Redlands, CA
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
- 53
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 947 total · 318 in this make and model · 947 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.