Piper PA-28-140 N4377J

Summary

On 2 August 2008 at about 13:40 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N4377J was involved in an accident near Mc Kinnon, Tennessee, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 August 2008 at 13:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Mc Kinnon, Tennessee, United States

Coordinates

36.3172, -87.9169

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N4377J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Columbia → Mc Kinnon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA08CA154

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's inadequate fuel consumption calculations which led to fuel exhaustion and subsequent loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of a Piper PA-28-140 stated that he estimated he had about 12 gallons of fuel when he started the airplane and departed to attend a breakfast fly-in. He climbed to a cruising altitude of 2,500 feet for the planned 35 to 40-minute-flight. When he was between 3.5 to 4 miles from his destination airport, he initiated a descent down to 2,000 feet and leveled the airplane. The engine sputtered and he initially thought he had a problem with carburetor ice. He applied carburetor heat, turned the boost pump on, checked the mixture was full rich, pumped the throttle, and the engine stopped. He initiated a forced landing to the trees when he realized he could not land at the destination airport. The pilot stated he did not have any mechanical problems with the airplane before the accident and "the loss of engine power was due to fuel starvation." Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the left and right main fuel tanks were not ruptured. No fuel was present in the left main fuel tank and about 1 cup of fuel was present in the right main fuel tank.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.