Piper PA-32-260 N7724J

Summary

On 30 December 1998 at about 22:05 local time, a Piper PA-32-260 registered N7724J was involved in an accident near Fabens, Texas, United States. 5 people were on board and one 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

30 December 1998 at 22:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Fabens, Texas, United States

Coordinates

31.4999, -106.1508

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-260

Registration

N7724J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Spring → El Paso

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW99LA056

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to correctly calculate fuel consumption, which resulted in the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

About 5 hours 13 minutes into a cross-country flight, the airplane's engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion. During the ensuing forced landing, the airplane touched down on the up-slope of a sand dune. The pilot reported that he 'inspected all 4 fuel tanks following refueling prior to departure.' The pilot further reported that he performed fuel calculations at about 3 hours into the flight using fuel gauge readings, and 'fuel usage [was] estimated at 12 gph.' The operator reported that the airplane's normal fuel consumption was 15 to 18 gallons per hour, and that the airplane's average fuel consumption for its previous two flights was calculated to be 16.27 gallons per hour. The airplane's four fuel tanks held a total of 84 gallons, of which 80 gallons were useable.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.