Piper PA 31-350 N3548J

Summary

On 23 April 2017 at about 23:00 local time, a Piper PA 31-350 registered N3548J was involved in an accident near Covington, Louisiana, 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

23 April 2017 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Covington, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

30.5578, -90.0300

Aircraft

Piper PA 31-350

Registration

N3548J

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Vidalia → Slidell

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17LA166

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of power to both engines due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot departed with full fuel tanks for a multileg, cross-country flight. The pilot estimated that his total flight time for the first two legs of the trip was 4 hours 15 minutes, and he landed at two different airports but did not obtain fuel. About 25 to 30 minutes into the last leg of the flight, the left engine lost power. Shortly thereafter, the right engine lost power. The pilot conducted a forced landing to a field, during which the outboard portion of the left wing and aileron hit a tree and separated from the airplane. About 1 to 2 quarts of fuel were recovered from the entire fuel system. An examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that both engines lost total power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's improper fuel planning.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.