- Date
- October 11, 1992, 15:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Spokane, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N24563Piper PA-38-112
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921011041629A
- Case key
- 42951
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
Inadequate preflight planning/preparation. Factors to the accident were: fuel exhaustion and inadequate fuel consumption calculations.
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
During a solo cross country flight, the pilot reported that just before his last departure for the return leg home, he incorrectly calculated the remaining fuel on board and did not refuel the airplane. When approximately ten miles from the destination airport, the left fuel tank exhausted of fuel. The pilot switched to the right fuel tank that exhausted of fuel approximately two miles from the airport. The pilot attempted an approach to runway 21L, then switched to 21R to try and land on the overrun. An airport boundary fence is present at the end of the overrun. In order to avoid striking the fence, the pilot had to pull the airplane up and over the fence. The airplane stalled and dropped to the ground, striking the runway approach lights.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N24563
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-79A1132
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Loranger Aviation
- Registered owner
- Vaughn, Gerald W.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- LWS · Lewiston, ID
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- SFF · Felts Fld, runway 21, 4,500 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 48
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 35 total · 21 in this make and model · 7 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
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 N24563 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.