Piper PA-28-181 N9089C

Summary

On 23 August 2002 at about 01:45 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N9089C, operated by Aviation Adventures, was involved in an accident near Manassas, Virginia, 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

23 August 2002 at 01:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Manassas, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Manassas Regional Airport (HEF)

Coordinates

38.7153, -77.4747

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N9089C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Aviation Adventures

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Manassas → Manassas

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

NYC02LA174

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate pre-flight planning, and his inadequate visual lookout while taxing on an off airport road. A factor related to the accident was the dark night conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After a 2-hour night flight, the engine began to "sputter," and subsequently lost total power. The pilot performed an uneventful forced landing to a light highway. Since the airplane was blocking vehicle traffic, the pilot elected to taxi the airplane from the road to a grass area. During the taxi, the airplane struck a metal road sign with the left wing. Examination of the airplane revealed that both fuel tanks were empty and there was no evidence of fuel leakage at the accident site. Additionally, the pilot stated after the accident that he had been flying for about 2 hours and ran out of fuel. The pilot did not refuel during the flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.