Piper PA 24 N5661R

Summary

On 20 June 2016 at about 03:32 local time, a Piper PA 24 registered N5661R was involved in an accident near Houston, Texas, United States. One person was on board and 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

20 June 2016 at 03:32

Classification

Accident

Location

Houston, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

William P. Hobby (HOU)

Coordinates

29.7322, -95.3356

Aircraft

Piper PA 24

Registration

N5661R

Category

Airplane

Year built

1959

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St. Loui → Houston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN16LA225

1 person was seriously injured.

The total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was about 6 miles from the destination airport when he informed the controller that the airplane had lost all engine power and would not be able to make it to the airport. The airplane struck the roof of a 40-ft-tall warehouse. No fuel was found in either fuel tank, and there was no evidence of a fuel spill. The pilot stated after the accident that the engine had lost power due to fuel exhaustion. No information was obtained during the investigation that detailed where the pilot had departed from or how much fuel was on board the airplane at the start of the accident flight. It is likely that the pilot departed with insufficient fuel on board for the planned flight or that he did not monitor his fuel usage during the flight; either of these scenarios would have resulted in the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.