Piper PA-12 N4159M

Summary

On 23 December 2003 at about 00:10 local time, a Piper PA-12 registered N4159M was involved in an accident near Edgewood, New Mexico, United States. 2 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.

Date

23 December 2003 at 00:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Edgewood, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

35.0944, -106.1672

Aircraft

Piper PA-12

Registration

N4159M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Los Alamos → Edgewood

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

DEN04LA032

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning and decision making. Factors contributing to the accident include the resulting fuel exhaustion, the snow covered field and the fence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed the morning of the accident with an estimated 16 gallons of fuel on board. Due to headwinds, the flight duration was slightly longer than anticipated. For the afternoon return flight, the pilot diverted to the west of his route due to overcast conditions, again, extending the duration of the flight. Approximately 7 miles west of his destination, the engine lost power and the pilot made a forced landing on a snow covered field. The pilot was unable to stop the airplane prior to impacting a fence causing substantial damage. According to the FAA inspector at the scene, the fuel tanks were empty and no fuel was present in the carburetor.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.