- Date
- April 8, 1988, 02:30 local (06:30 UTC)
- Place
- West Seneca, NY
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N59845Piper PA-31-325
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 11, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880408022819A
- Case key
- 36130
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 due to fuel starvation. Contributing factor was adversed weather conditions.
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 flight departed buffalo under IFR conditions to jamestown, new york. Several approaches were made to land but due to the weather conditions, the pilot elected to return to buffalo still under IFR. During initial contact with control tower, the pilot advised them that he was low on fuel and requested direct flight to buffalo. About 5 miles ssw of buffalo both engines quit and the pilot advised that he was not going to make it. At this time the flight was issued emergency vector to buffalo, but the aircraft crashed adjacent to route 400 in West Seneca, new york.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N59845
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31-325
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31-7612054
- Airframe hours
- 2,040
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540-F28D, 325 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lands Edge, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 15, 1988 · 65 hours before
- Departed
- Buffalo, NY
- Destination
- Jamestown, NY
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 47
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,050 total · 410 in this make and model · 3,030 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- 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.