Piper PA-28-150 N5346W

Summary

On 31 July 2001 at about 07:38 local time, a Piper PA-28-150 registered N5346W was involved in an accident near Hesperia, California, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 July 2001 at 07:38

Classification

Accident

Location

Hesperia, California, United States

Nearest airport

Hesperia (L26)

Coordinates

34.3333, -117.3269

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-150

Registration

N5346W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Redding → Hesperia

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

LAX01LA265

1 person was seriously injured.

the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion while maneuvering in an attempt to locate the runway. Contributing factors were the inadequate runway maintenance that resulted in inoperative runway edge lights, and the night light conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted wires and terrain following a loss of engine power while maneuvering near an airport. The commercial pilot planned a 4 hour 45 minute flight with 5 hours 20 minutes of fuel on board. When the pilot arrived at his destination airport, he was unable to locate the airport because of poor visibility. The pilot then diverted to another airport, and activated its pilot controlled runway lighting; however, the runway lights only remained illuminated for 5 minutes, then went out. The pilot attempted to reactivate the runway lights, but was unsuccessful. The pilot became concerned about the fuel situation and descended toward the ground in an attempt to locate the runway. The engine lost power and the airplane impacted wires approximately 0.6 miles west of the airport. The sheriff deputy, who responded to the accident site and interviewed the pilot, indicated he flew within 0.6 miles of the diversion airport approximately 1 month after the accident, and attempted to illuminate the pilot controlled runway lights. According to the deputy, he was unsuccessful in activating the runway lights after several attempts from various locations around the airport.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.