- Date
- September 20, 1991, 14:51 local (21:51 UTC)
- Place
- French Gulch, CA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6414PPiper PA-24-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 24, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910920042249A
- Case key
- 27363
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 refuel before departing on the accident flight. Contributing to this accident was the high vegetation and 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 pilot departed nut tree airport, vacaville, CA, for a 1-hour flight to trinity center, CA with 10 gallons of fuel. When the airplane was 41 minutes into the flight the engine power ceased and the pilot executed an emergency landing in a small brushed covered field. During the landing roll the airplane's right wing collided with a manzanita bush. The investigation revealed there was no fuel remaining in any of the fuel tanks.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6414P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-1524
- Airframe hours
- 3,154
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Raab, Mark L.
- Registered owner
- Raab, Mark L.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 1991 · 44 hours before
- Departed
- 045 · Vacaville, CA
- Destination
- 086 · Trinity Center, 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
- 37
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 646 total · 68 in this make and model · 646 as pilot in command · 42 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 50 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.
Other investigations on N6414P · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.