Piper PA28 N642RJ

Summary

On 8 May 2018 at about 04:00 local time, a Piper PA28 registered N642RJ was involved in an accident near Addison, Texas, 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

8 May 2018 at 04:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Addison, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Addison (ADS)

Coordinates

33.0003, -96.8281

Aircraft

Piper PA28

Registration

N642RJ

Category

Airplane

Year built

1963

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tupelo → Weatherford

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Bright

NTSB number

GAA18CA264

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadequate preflight fuel planning, which resulted in a 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 pilot reported that he departed with about 40 to 45 gallons of fuel for a calculated 3.9-tach-hour flight with a 10 gallon per hour fuel burn. He added that, en route, the engine sputtered, and he knew the right fuel tank was empty. He switched to the left fuel tank and continued to the destination airport. About 30 minutes from the destination airport, the engine sputtered and experienced a total loss of power. During the forced landing, the airplane landed in a parking lot and impacted a pole. The pilot reported that the airplane "ran out of gas." The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.