Piper PA-28-181 N8309L

Summary

On 22 March 2014 at about 08:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N8309L, operated by Jeffrey A Bronken, was involved in an accident near Safety Harbor, Florida, United States. 3 people were on board and 2 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 March 2014 at 08:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Safety Harbor, Florida, United States

Coordinates

28.0003, -82.7089

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N8309L

Category

Airplane

Year built

1980

Engines

1

Operator

Jeffrey A Bronken

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Nashville → Clearwater

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA14FA162

2 people died.

The pilot's inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's impairment due to cocaine use.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the night cross-country flight, the airplane had been flying for 4 hours 21 minutes and was about 6 miles from the destination airport when the pilot reported a fuel emergency to air traffic control. The pilot stated that he was going to attempt to land on a highway; however, the airplane collided with 160-ft-tall power lines that crossed the highway. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions of the airframe or engine, and only a few ounces of fuel were recovered from the wreckage. The airplane held 48 usable gallons of fuel and consumed about 10.5 gallons per hour, resulting in an expected endurance of 4 hours 35 minutes, which does not account for fuel used during taxi, takeoff, and climb. The pilot's toxicology results were positive for cocaine, and impairment from cocaine likely affected his preflight fuel planning abilities and en route fuel management.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.