- Date
- August 26, 1987, 15:35 local (19:35 UTC)
- Place
- Vero Beach, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N2316DPiper PA-38-112
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 11, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870826049189A
- Case key
- 31776
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 student plt was on an aprx 380 mi solo x-country flt fm Vero Beach (vrb) to naples (apf), brooksville (bkv) & back to vrb. He thought he had plenty of fuel for the flt & elected to dep w/o taking a credit card (for fuel). When he lndd at apf & bkv, he did not refuel. On the last leg of the flt (along a southeasterly route) fm bkv to vrb, the student ctcd the vrb fss & rprtd he was unsure of his psn & reqd a df steer. He was given a 060 deg hdg to the destn arpt. He visually acquired the arpt environment, but bfr arriving, the acft ran out of fuel. The student tried to glide to a rwy,but was unable. He selected an open field for an emerg lndg. While mnvrg to lnd, he momentarily lost ctl of the acft as he was turning to avoid a 125' tower. He regained ctl after the acft entered a dive, but was too late to avoid impactingthe gnd. The student had calculated the total distance of the flt as 280 (instead of 380) mi. Neither he nor his CFI noticed the error. Svrl other arpts were located along the last leg of the flt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2316D
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-79A0563
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Flight Safety Int'L, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · August 6, 1987 · 39 hours before
- Departed
- BKV · Brooksville, FL
- Destination
- VRB · Vero Beach, FL
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- VRB · Vero Beach
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
- 18
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 49 total · 49 in this make and model · 18 as pilot in command · 49 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VRB, 2 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.