Piper PA18-160 N177SC

Summary

On 19 June 2011 at about 03:45 local time, a Piper PA18-160 registered N177SC, operated by Atlanta Aerial Billboards, was involved in an accident near Ridgeville, South Carolina, 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

19 June 2011 at 03:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Ridgeville, South Carolina, United States

Coordinates

33.0917, -80.3094

Aircraft

Piper PA18-160

Registration

N177SC

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Atlanta Aerial Billboards

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Banner Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lawrenceville → St. George

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA11CA352

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate fuel planning.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he filled the airplane's fuel tanks to capacity, a total of 36 gallons, prior to departing on the flight to the banner-tow site, which was approximately 2 hours away. After picking up the banner, he flew the banner for about 35 minutes before dropping it back at the airport. He then departed to an airport approximately 27 miles away in order to refuel the airplane. After landing at the airport, the pilot found the fuel pump locked and departed to a second airport approximately 20 miles away. The pilot stated that the weather began to deteriorate and he decided to turn around. The pilot then elected to divert to a third airport. Approximately 7 miles from the airport, the airplane’s engine lost all power. The pilot conducted a forced landing to a railroad track and, during the landing rollout, the airplane's right wing impacted a pole. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing. After a Federal Aviation Administration inspector supplied fuel to the engine during a postaccident examination, the engine started and ran with no anomalies. The pilot stated that he ran out of fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.