Piper PA-28-151 N6243J

Summary

On 30 May 1995 at about 19:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-151 registered N6243J was involved in an accident near Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 May 1995 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

Nearest airport

Honolulu International (HNL)

Coordinates

21.3401, -157.9406

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-151

Registration

N6243J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kona → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX95LA199

3 people died.

fuel exhaustion resulting from pilot's inadequate preflight fuel planning for the over water flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot called ATC and advised that he was experiencing a rough running engine, an intermittent engine, and finally, engine failure. The pilot reported he had less than 10 gallons of fuel and that there were three people onboard. ATC then lost radio and radar contact with the aircraft. A pilot flying in he vicinity reported seeing the aircraft inverted in the water. Two victims were recovered from the water and the third remains missing. A witness said the pilot was anxious to return to Honolulu. Fueling records showed 35.1 gallons of fuel was delivered on 5/27. The pilot then flew the aircraft on a local test flight of about 1 hour. There was no record of a fuel purchase on 5/26, or subsequent fuel purchases. On two prior occasions the pilot had been forced to make unplanned landings due to low fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.