- Date
- September 10, 1989, 13:05 local (17:05 UTC)
- Place
- Titusville, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7946PPiper PA-24-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 5, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890910034309A
- Case key
- 32499
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
Failure of the private pilot (dual student) to assure the fuel selector was positioned to the proper tank, which resulted in fuel starvation; and inadequate supervision by the instructor pilot (CFI). The trees were a related factor.
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
As the acft was on final apch to land after a bfr flt, the eng lost power due to fuel starvation. During a subsequent emergency landing, it collided with trees short of the rwy & was damaged. An investigation revealed the eng lost power when the right fuel tank emptied & the left tank was still full.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7946P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-3182
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- H. L. Pugh
- Airport
- TIX · Space Center Executive, runway 36, 6,001 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 57
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Invalid Medical for flight
- Flight hours
- 6,000 total · 75 in this make and model · 6,000 as pilot in command · 120 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 15,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- TIX
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 N7946P · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.