Piper J5A N33078

Summary

On 27 August 2009 at about 21:25 local time, a Piper J5A registered N33078, operated by Horan Mark E, was involved in an accident near Holland, Massachusetts, 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

27 August 2009 at 21:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Holland, Massachusetts, United States

Coordinates

42.0356, -72.1944

Aircraft

Piper J5A

Registration

N33078

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Horan Mark E

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Southbridge → Warehouse Point

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09CA489

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. A factor in the accident was the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he began the day with an unknown quantity of fuel. Shortly after departing on his second flight of the day, the airplane suffered a complete loss of engine power. During the subsequent forced landing, the left main landing gear caught tall grass and ground-looped the airplane, which resulted in substantial damage to the left landing gear, left wing strut, and left lower fuselage. Post accident examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed no odor of fuel, no fuel spillage, and 5 ounces of fuel in the airplane. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.