- Date
- April 4, 1986, 18:35 local (23:35 UTC)
- Place
- Homestead, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N55WEPiper PA-31-350
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860404011149A
- Case key
- 31493
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 flt was nearing completion of a 4.2 hr x-country flt & was aprx 7 miles from the dest when both engs quit due to fuel exhaustion. A forced ldg was performed. The plt stated the acft had departed with a full fuel load of 182 gals. The acft owner stated that fuel consumption averaged about 44 gals per hr. At that rate, the acft would have consumed approx 185 gals. After the accident, the plt stated that a factor in the accident may have been that he had been recently flying another PA-31 which had a greater fuel capacity due to the installation of aux fuel tanks & he may have subconsciously thought that he had more fuel than he actually had.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N55WE
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31-350
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31-7405163
- Airframe hours
- 6,449
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD, 350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Key Largo Air Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 31, 1985 · 88 hours before
- Departed
- EYW · Key West, FL
- Destination
- X51 · Homestead, FL
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
- 43
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,467 total · 118 in this make and model · 3,169 as pilot in command · 85 in the last 90 days · 51 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 80° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TMB, 22 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.