- Date
- August 24, 1990, 08:15 local (12:15 UTC)
- Place
- Norridgewock, ME
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N250SCPiper PA-31-350
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 23, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900824039709A
- Case key
- 36741
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
The pilot's improper preflight and inflight planning of the fuel, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and forced landing.
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 pilot was unable to land because of fog. He diverted to two other airports, but these were also fogged in. While flying to a third airport, both engines quit and the pilot landed the airplane in a field. An on site investigation revealed the airplane had no fuel in the tanks. The pilot acknowledged he had not checked the fuel quantity before the flight. The pilot stated the first time he realized he didn't have fuel in the auxiliary tanks was when he selected them while diverting to the third airport.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N250SC
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31-350
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31-7752076
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD, 350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Operator
- Telford Aviation, Inc.
- Departed
- BGR · Bangor, ME
- Destination
- WVY · Waterville, ME
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 5,250 total · 900 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.