Piper PA-28-140 N8715E

Summary

On 15 April 2005 at about 23:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N8715E, operated by Thomas J. Moody, was involved in an accident near McCammon, Idaho, 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

15 April 2005 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

McCammon, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

42.6875, -112.2008

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N8715E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Thomas J. Moody

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Malad City → Pocatello

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA05CA082

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to the pilot's inadequate in-flight decision/planning by failing to refuel while en route, resulting in fuel exhaustion. Factors contributing to the accident included the trees and fence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Prior to departing on the second leg of the cross-country flight the pilot filled both fuel tanks to capacity, 48 usable gallons, equating to 4.8 hours of flight time. After completing the second leg of the flight, which took 3 hours and 35 minutes (3.58 hours), and unable to purchase fuel at the intermediate stop, the pilot calculated he had 1.22 hours of fuel remaining, more than enough to fly 65 miles to another airport where fuel was available. Approximately 20 minutes into the flight the engine began to run rough. The pilot switched tanks, which resulted in the engine running normal, but just as he was about to proceed to an alternate airport the second tank ran dry and the engine quit. An emergency landing to a field resulted in the airplane touching down, bouncing, and impacting two small trees. The airplane then struck a raised driveway before being launched back into the air and hitting the ground, shearing off both the front and left main landing gear. The aircraft came to rest in an upright position after sliding through a barbed wire fence. An FAA inspector confirmed the lack of fuel in both fuel tanks and substantial damage to both wings. The inspector also observed a homemade placard located above the fuel gage panel which read, "FUEL GAGES MAY INDICATE AS MUCH AS 2 1/2 GALLONS WHEN TANKS ARE EMPTY". The pilot reported no anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident, which would have prevented normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.