Piper PA-32-300 N823PJ

Summary

On 19 August 1996 at about 02:09 local time, a Piper PA-32-300 registered N823PJ, operated by Northwest Flyers, Inc., was involved in an accident near Crystal Lake, Illinois, United States. 6 people were on board and 4 were seriously injured, 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 August 1996 at 02:09

Classification

Accident

Location

Crystal Lake, Illinois, United States

Coordinates

42.2704, -88.3110

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-300

Registration

N823PJ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Northwest Flyers, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Eagle River → Schaumburg

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CHI96FA309

4 people were seriously injured.

the pilot's inadequate fuel management and which resulted in fuel system exhaustion. The factors involved were the pilot's failure to refuel, inadequate preflight planning/preparation and the dark night conditions encountered.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight itinerary consisted of a 4.5-hour round-robin flight from Schaumburg, Illinois, to Eagle River, Wisconsin and return. The airplane departed Schaumburg with approximately 84 gallons of fuel, and was not refueled prior to the return flight. The pilot said he had 24 gallons in the main tanks and 4 gallons in each tip tank prior to departing Eagle River. On takeoff, the cabin door was unsecured and a return landing to the Eagle River Airport was executed. On the return flight to Schaumburg, the engine lost power several times. The pilot was able to temporarily restore power by switching between fuel tanks. The pilot decided to land in a street because he could not find a local airport. The airplane contacted parked vehicles and a residence during the landing. Both the pilot and front passenger were not wearing shoulder harnesses. The weather was observed as light to moderate rain with lighting and thunderstorms in the vicinity. Forty six ounces of fuel were drained from the left wing. The engine ran successfully at all power applications with no discrepancies noticed.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.