Aviation Crash Map

Piper PA-32-260 N40712

17 January 1999 · St. Charles, Illinois, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 17 January 1999 at about 20:45 local time, a Piper PA-32-260 registered N40712, operated by Valdemaras Bylaitis, was involved in an accident near St. Charles, Illinois, United States. 4 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 20:45
Classification
Accident
Location
St. Charles, Illinois, United States
Coordinates
41.9201, -88.3002
Aircraft
Piper PA-32-260
Registration
N40712
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Valdemaras Bylaitis
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Chicago → Mt. Vernon
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
IMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
CHI99LA065

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
4 0 0 0 4

Probable cause

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Also causal was the pilot's inadequate preflight/planning preparation which led to inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions and him becoming lost/disoriented. Contributing to the accident were the low ceiling, his lack of recent experience in instrument flying and the snow covered field.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said that he was returning to the airport where the flight originated because he encountered bad weather. When reaching the vicinity of the Lewis/Lockport Airport, Romeoville, Illinois, the pilot said that there were low ceilings over the airport which prohibited him from landing there. He then noted that he was running low on fuel. The pilot said that he was unsure of his position, but would attempt to find the Dupage County Airport, West Chicago, Illinois. When reaching the Dupage Airport area, the pilot said that the ceilings were low there too. The pilot said that he was just about to declare an emergency, when his airplane ran out of fuel. He spotted a large field and performed a forced landing. No fuel was observed in any of the airplane's four fuel tanks. Examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Piper PA-32 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
27 Mar 1999 Piper PA-32-300
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Marquette, Michigan, United States - No injuries -
16 Aug 1999 Piper PA-32-260
N991RC
Aspen, Colorado, United States - Minor injuries -
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3 Feb 1999 Piper PA-32-260
N5528J
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23 Jul 1999 Piper PA-32-300
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McGrath, Alaska, United States - Minor injuries -
19 Sep 1999 Piper PA-32-300
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Rifle, Colorado, United States - No injuries -

All 1,695 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
29 Aug 1999 Benson SORRELL SNS-7
N60SV
Mt. Vernon, Illinois, United States - No injuries -
17 Jul 1999 Piper PA-28-181
N5054F
Yorkville, Illinois, United States - Fatal 2
18 Mar 1999 Socata TB-9C
N508PC
Cahokia, Illinois, United States - Serious injuries -
12 Jul 1999 McMillan ZODIAC CH 601 HD
N6781Z
Nauvoo, Illinois, United States - Minor injuries -
22 Mar 1999 Cessna 152
N757MJ
Bloomington, Illinois, United States - Minor injuries -
25 Jan 1999 Piper PA-46-350P
N181JW
Rockford, Illinois, United States Jerome S. Weiskopf Serious injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States