Piper PA-28 N1248H

Summary

On 16 July 2002 at about 23:55 local time, a Piper PA-28 registered N1248H was involved in an accident near Burns, Oregon, United States. One person was 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.

Date

16 July 2002 at 23:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Burns, Oregon, United States

Coordinates

43.6183, -119.1750

Aircraft

Piper PA-28

Registration

N1248H

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Salt Lake City → Bend

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA02LA132

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper decision to continue on en route into an area of forecast reduced visibility without sufficient fuel to divert to a suitable alternate airport, and his subsequent inadvertent exhaustion of the aircraft's fuel supply. Factors include reduced visibility due to forest fire smoke, and rough/uneven terrain at the location where the pilot found it necessary to make a forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After departing Salt Lake City, the pilot ran into some rain showers and had to divert to the east of his planned route. After completing his weather diversion, he flew directly over Burns, Oregon, en route to his final destination of Bend, Oregon. Upon arriving in the area of Bend, the pilot was unable to locate the airport due to low visibility created by smoke from ongoing forest fires. He then attempted to contact someone on the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) at Bend, but was unsuccessful. He also tried to contact the tower at Redmond, Oregon, but was unable to do so. Although he knew he was getting low on fuel, the pilot decided he should attempt to return to Burns because the visibility had been good there when he flew over it earlier. As he was approaching Burns from the west, the aircraft ran out of fuel, and the pilot was forced to make a power-off landing in an open field. Although the initial touchdown was successful, during the landing roll on the rough rocky terrain, the nose gear and one main gear collapsed. According to the pilot, during his preflight briefing with the FAA Flight Service Station in Salt Lake City, he had been advised that the smoke from the forest fires near Bend was restricting visibility, but he did not realize that the combination of the afternoon sun and the accumulated smoke would make it so hard to find features on the ground.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.