- Date
- January 13, 1989, 19:00 local (Jan 14, 1989, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Albany, NY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2361KPiper PA-38-112
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890113000509A
- Case key
- 36362
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
Fuel exhaustion resulting from the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning and misjudged fuel consumption.
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 acft collided with trees and terrain, near the lakeshore village apartments in Albany, NY. The pilot, sole occupant, was not injured, however, the aircraft receiving substantial damage. The pilot said he ran out of gas but was at a loss as to why, after only 4 hours of flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2361K
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-79A0591
- Airframe hours
- 1,542
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Thomas F. Zimmie
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 12, 1988 · 104 hours before
- Departed
- GAI · Gaithersburg, MD
- Destination
- ALB · Albany, NY
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- ALB
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
- 50
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 931 total · 708 in this make and model · 820 as pilot in command · 43 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 320° at 20 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 30 °F, dew point 19 °F
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 N2361K · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.