- Date
- March 15, 1990, 13:25 local (18:25 UTC)
- Place
- Margate, FL
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7114YPiper PA-30
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 10, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900315017899A
- Case key
- 32637
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
Loss of power in both engines due to fuel exhaustion, resulting in a forced landing. A factor in the accident was that the pilot did not follow the flight manual to ensure that the fuel tanks were filled to capacity.
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 plt stated that the nose gear strut was 'slightly extended' when the fuel tanks were topped off, which was verified by visual inspection & the fuel gauges. The flt departed to a pvt arpt to enplane 2 pax then departed & landed at an arpt where the intl VFR flt plan was filed. The flt departed & en route was uneventful but during the extended downwind leg, both eng's quit due to fuel exhaustion. During the landing roll on a canal, the rt wing collided with an object. The owners handbook states that the landing gear struts should be extended 2 3/4 inches under static load. Exam of the acft revealed that located on the underside of the main fuel tank filler cover door was a placard which states that 'filling instructions to obtain maximum capacity, acft must be aprx level with landing gears equally extended. Nonvented fuel cap tightened securely.' The plt further stated that he estimates that the fuel capacity was 7.7 gallons short when the fuel tanks were topped off.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7114Y
- Reported as
- Piper PA-30
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30-135
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-320-B1A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Bernaby, Frank A.
- Departed
- MDPP · Puerto Plata, OF
- Destination
- FXE · Ft Lauderdale, FL
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- FXE · Ft Lauderdale Executive, runway 13, 3,999 × 100 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
- 31
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 314 total · 78 in this make and model · 260 as pilot in command · 119 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 20 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- FXE, 4 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.
Other investigations on N7114Y · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.