Piper J4/E N37982

Summary

On 18 May 2004 at about 01:22 local time, a Piper J4/E registered N37982 was involved in an accident near Bigfork, 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

18 May 2004 at 01:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Bigfork, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Ferndale Airfield (53U)

Coordinates

48.0667, -113.9833

Aircraft

Piper J4/E

Registration

N37982

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bigfork → Bigfork

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA04LA084

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion while in cruise flight as a result of inadequate preflight planning / preparation. Factors contributing to the accident were the short landing field and trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while returning to land at the departure airport, the engine began to "surge". The pilot continued towards the airport but was not able to maintain altitude or establish visual contact with the airport due to terrain. The pilot further reported that since he was unable to reach the airport, he turned approximately 180-degrees and initiated a forced landing in a field. During the landing roll the pilot, in an attempt to avoid running into trees, applied the brakes "aggressively" which resulted in a nose over. In a telephone conversation and subsequent written statement, the pilot reported, "I am convinced the engine quit running because of fuel starvation." He related that the airplane had been "topped" three days earlier and had been flown two hours previous to the day of the accident. On the day of the accident he flew for about an hour. He further revealed that he was aware that the wing tank was empty because he had observed "bubbles" in the fuel sight gauge, which extends out the bottom of the wing tank. The pilot also reported that the airplane was equipped with one 18-gallon wing tank, and a 7-gallon header tank. Post accident examination of the aircraft by maintenance personnel from Discount Aircraft Salvage, found all engine controls to be functioning properly and approximately one tablespoon of fuel was drained from the fuel gascolator. After adding approximately one gallon of fuel to the header tank, the engine was started and ran smoothly with no malfunction or failures noted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.