Piper PA-38 N9705T

Summary

On 20 April 2003 at about 23:30 local time, a Piper PA-38 registered N9705T was involved in an accident near Trident, Montana, 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

20 April 2003 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Trident, Montana, United States

Coordinates

46.0333, -111.3833

Aircraft

Piper PA-38

Registration

N9705T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Helena → Bozeman

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA03LA065

Nobody was injured.

Fuel exhaustion while in cruise flight due to inadequate preflight planning / preparation. A fence was a factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was on a cross country flight to use up the aircrafts fuel in order to perform a weight and balance. The pilot reported that he felt there was enough fuel on board for the trip. Approximately thirty minutes after departure the engine experienced a complete power loss. Following the loss of power, the pilot elected to land in a nearby field. After a "hard" landing and during the landing rollout, the airplane collided with a fence post resulting in substantial damage. During the subsequent investigation both fuel tanks were found to be empty.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.