Fuel Exhaustion & Starvation · NTSB CEN09FA377
PIPER PA-28-180 — Sanborn, IA
| Date | June 23, 2009 |
| Location | Sanborn, IA |
| Aircraft | PIPER PA-28-180 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Maneuvering Fuel exhaustion |
| Pilot age | 64 |
| Pilot total time | 722 hrs · Building experience |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 3 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C
- Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
What happened
Prior to the flight, the airplane was refueled with 12 gallons of fuel; however, the total fuel on board at the time of departure could not be determined. During the 3-hour cross-country flight, the airplane overflew several airports that had fuel services available. Witnesses, located near the accident site, observed the airplane flying low and heard the engine lose power, restart, and lose power again. The pilot executed a forced landing to a corn field, the airplane impacted a ditch, and was substantially damaged. No evidence of usable fuel was found in the airplane fuel tanks, or at the accident site. Examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operations.