Max A Boesiger Jr PULSAR N610RJ

Summary

On 6 April 2009 at about 04:45 local time, a Max A Boesiger Jr PULSAR registered N610RJ, operated by Max A Boesiger, Jr, was involved in an accident near Riddle, Idaho, 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

6 April 2009 at 04:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Riddle, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

42.1667, -116.1000

Aircraft

Max A Boesiger Jr PULSAR

Registration

N610RJ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Max A Boesiger, Jr

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lucine → Caldwell

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

WPR09CA181

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's becoming lost and disoriented. Contributing to the accident was fatigue, as reported by the pilot.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot made a 1 hour 20 minute flight to a private strip in the morning, and expected to be working there for a few hours. His work ended up lasting all day, and he did not depart until sundown. He stated that he was very tired and anxious to get home. His panel-mounted global positioning satellite system (GPS) was not internally lit, and after getting airborne he discovered that a flashlight that he kept in the airplane for this purpose did not work. Rather than return to the departure airport for another light, he decided to travel north until he intersected Interstate 84, where he could turn west and follow it home. He saw an intersection approaching, turned west, and gave no further thought to navigation. He was 5,000 feet above ground level (agl) and stated that he could not be sure that this was the proper highway to follow. He noted that he was so tired that he forgot that he had a handheld GPS in his backpack that was internally lit. He noticed that the highway turned south, so he continued west thinking that he would pick it up again when it turned back to the north. About 30 minutes later, the pilot realized that he had been following the wrong road. He became very disoriented and turned north attempting to locate a town that he could recognize. He then used his cell phone to light up the face of the panel-mounted GPS, discovered that he was 150 miles from Boise, Idaho, and turned toward it. About 10 minutes later, he realized that he did not have enough fuel to make it to Boise or even the next closest airport. He continued on toward Boise hoping that he would find a road or clear place to land. At an altitude of 4,000 feet agl, the engine lost power. He saw no traffic on any road to help find a landing spot. He was in an extremely remote area and only saw three lights on the ground that were about 1/2-mile apart. He landed on rough terrain near a house, and all three landing gear sheared off at touchdown.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.