Piper PA-24-180 N6017P

Summary

On 17 September 2007 at about 03:30 local time, a Piper PA-24-180 registered N6017P, operated by Charles D. Wiseman, was involved in an accident near Taylor, Texas, 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

17 September 2007 at 03:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Taylor, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Taylor Muni (T74)

Coordinates

30.5703, -97.4392

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-180

Registration

N6017P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Charles D. Wiseman

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Greenwood → Taylor

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

DFW07CA202

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as result of the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision. Contributing factors were the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing and the dark night.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 2,000-hour private pilot reported that his single-engine airplane lost power while at altitude of 8,000 feet MSL during a night VFR flight. As a precaution, the pilot elected to initiate the descent to his destination airport after successfully restarting the engine. While descending to the airport, the engine lost power a second time and the pilot elected to perform a gear-up forced landing to an open field 2 nautical miles north east of his intended destination. Additionally, the pilot noted that the right fuel gauge indicated one-fourth full and the left fuel gauge indicated an unknown low amount of fuel. The airplane sustained structural damage during the forced landing. The 3 occupants reported that they were able to egress from the airplane unassisted. Having flown this route multiple times, the pilot stated that he always landed with 45 minutes of fuel in reserve. The pilot added that the fuel gauges on his airplane were usually accurate and he was unaware of his low fuel condition until after the engine lost power the second time. The FAA investigators that responded to the accident site reported that both the left and right fuel tanks had been exhausted. Weather at the destination airport 5 minutes after the mishap was reported as calm winds, visibility 10 statute miles, with clear skies, temperature 23 degrees Celsius, dew point 18 degrees Celsius, and altimeter 30.08 inches of Mercury.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.