Piper PA-32-260 N5538J

Summary

On 3 December 1996 at about 01:45 local time, a Piper PA-32-260 registered N5538J, operated by Airpark Sales and Service, Inc, was involved in an accident near Felton, Pennsylvania, United States. 3 people were on board and one died, 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 December 1996 at 01:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Felton, Pennsylvania, United States

Coordinates

39.8508, -76.5609

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-260

Registration

N5538J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Airpark Sales and Service, Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Scranton → Leonardtown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

NYC97FA025

1 person died.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and preparation, and his failure to refuel which resulted in fuel exhaustion and the subsequent collision with trees during the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed the round trip cross country flight with a total of 50 gallons of fuel. The first flight was 2 hours and 15 minutes. Prior to the return night flight, the pilot elected not to refuel the airplane. The airplane was one hour into the return flight, 70 nautical miles from the departure point, and 90 miles from the final destination, when the engine lost total power. The pilot then performed a forced landing, during which the airplane impacted trees. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of preimpact failures with the airplane. A few tablespoons of fuel was observed in the carburetor gascolator. Both main fuel tanks had ruptured and were absent of fuel. There was no evidence of a fuel spill in the vicinity of the wreckage. The last refueling facility was tested and found free from contamination. The fuel burn was calculated to be 14 gallons per hour allowing a total flight endurance of 3.5 hours with no reserve. The airplane was operated for 3.3 hours prior to losing total engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.