Piper PA 28-236 N4345K

Summary

On 13 January 2018 at about 17:30 local time, a Piper PA 28-236 registered N4345K was involved in an accident near Tishomingo, Oklahoma, 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

13 January 2018 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Tishomingo, Oklahoma, United States

Coordinates

34.1986, -96.6744

Aircraft

Piper PA 28-236

Registration

N4345K

Category

Airplane

Year built

1984

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hot Springs → Ardmore

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA075

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s inadequate preflight fuel planning and in-flight fuel monitoring and his decision to take off with an unverified amount of fuel, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent impact with trees during an attempted forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot departed on a cross-country flight; he reported that 35 to 40 gallons of fuel were in the airplane's fuel tanks for a flight that he thought would require 20 gallons of fuel. As the airplane was nearing the destination, the pilot was concerned about the fuel level in the left tank because the fuel gauge indicated that the tank was between one-quarter full and empty and no fuel remained in the right tank, which the pilot had intentionally run dry. The pilot elected to divert to ensure that the airplane would have adequate fuel to complete the flight to the destination. Upon landing at the diversion airpark, the pilot learned that the airpark had no fuel. The pilot subsequently took off from the airpark, and the airplane reached an altitude of about 1,500 ft above ground level when the engine "sputtered." The pilot attempted to return to the airpark, but the airplane could not clear the trees in the area. The pilot attempted a forced landing, but the airplane impacted the trees and subsequently impacted terrain. The airplane was in an inverted position at the time of impact. The pilot reported that the left tank "apparently goes empty somewhere prior to the E [empty] on the fuel gauge." However, the pilot did not mention whether he visually checked the amount of fuel before leaving the diversion airpark. Thus, the pilot likely departed without sufficient fuel on board to complete the flight to another diversion airpark. Further, the fuel amount was lower than the pilot expected during the flight, which was consistent with poor preflight fuel planning and in-flight fuel monitoring.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.