Piper PA-28-180 N4400T

Summary

On 6 April 1997 at about 18:54 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N4400T was involved in an accident near Farmingville, New York, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 April 1997 at 18:54

Classification

Accident

Location

Farmingville, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Long Island MacArthur (ISP)

Coordinates

40.8106, -73.0402

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N4400T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bar Harbor → Islip

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC97FA069

3 people were seriously injured.

the pilot's improper inflight planning/decision, which subsequently resulted in fuel exhaustion and loss of engine power. Related factors were: excessive fuel consumption rate, and obstructions (trees and house) in the emergency landing area.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During an ILS runway 24 approach, the engine lost power. According to the pilot, he switched fuel tanks & applied carburetor heat, then the engine restarted. He informed ATC, & was advised to maintain present heading to the airport. He stated that as the airplane descended below an overcast (about 600 ft agl), the engine lost power again. He switched tanks, & the engine restarted. The pilot started to land on a road, but due to traffic on the road, he elected to turn back toward the airport. The engine lost power a 3rd time. Subsequently, the airplane hit the top of a large tree during a forced landing, then came to rest against a house. During investigation, less than a quart of fuel was drained from the fuel system. During an operational check, the engine started on the 1st attempt & operated satisfactory to 2500 rpm. Duration of flight was about 3.6 hrs. En route, the flight was at an altitude of 4,000 ft msl, except about 16 minutes of flight was at 6,000 ft. The airplane's fuel capacity was 50 gallons. According to fuel consumption charts, the airplane's consumption rates with a lean fuel mixture were 10, 9.3, and 8.7 gallons per hour (gph), respectively, at 75, 70, and 65 percent of power. The pilot reported the normal fuel consumption rate was a consistent 10.5 gph. During the previous flight, the airplane was flown 2.2 hrs. The airplane was then refueled with 30.6 gallons of fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.