Piper PA-28-180 N7998W

Summary

On 27 February 1998 at about 19:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N7998W was involved in an accident near Monroe, Louisiana, United States. One person was 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

27 February 1998 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Monroe, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

32.5295, -92.1094

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N7998W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Destin → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW98LA138

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's improper decision to continue the flight after noting the low fuel quantity indication, 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

After a cross-country flight of 4 hours and 24 minutes, the airplane was 8 nautical miles from its destination when the engine lost power. The pilot initially set up for a forced landing on a highway; however, due to traffic on the highway, he elected to land adjacent to the highway. During the landing, the airplane encountered a ditch, impacted a tree, and came to a stop. When the flight was 13 nautical miles from its destination, the pilot had asked air traffic control to check on the availability of fuel at an airport the airplane was passing over. The controller was unable to confirm the availability of fuel, and although the right fuel gage was 'indicating nearly empty,' the pilot decided to continue the flight. He stated that he 'thought' the airplane would be able to reach the destination without difficulty since he had exhausted the fuel in the left tank earlier in the flight and noted that the 'fuel gage registered empty for 20 minutes or so before the engine quit.' There was no leakage or spillage of fuel at the accident site, and the right tank was found to be empty.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.