Piper PA-23 N1044P

Summary

On 2 May 1997 at about 05:25 local time, a Piper PA-23 registered N1044P was involved in an accident near Washington, District of Columbia, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 May 1997 at 05:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Nearest airport

Dulles International (IAD)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Piper PA-23

Registration

N1044P

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lake Hills → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Bright

NTSB number

IAD97LA071

2 people had minor injuries.

total loss of power on both engines due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's improper fuel consumption calculations.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that while en route, the right engine lost power. The pilot alerted air traffic control and he was vectored to Dulles International Airport . The pilot stated that he had the airport in sight when the left engine lost power. The pilot notified air traffic control that he was not going to make the runway, and the airplane impacted trees about 1000 feet short of runway 1. The pilot reported that in the course of his flight planning he misread the fuel quantity for the airplane as 108 gallons, which is the quantity for the auxiliary tank configuration. The pilot stated that he failed to catch his mistake until after the accident had occurred.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.