Piper PA-16 N5656H

Summary

On 25 September 2021 at about 14:30 local time, a Piper PA-16 registered N5656H was involved in an accident near Greensboro, Georgia, 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

25 September 2021 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Greensboro, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Logging Road (None)

Coordinates

33.5759, -83.1826

Aircraft

Piper PA-16

Registration

N5656H

Category

Airplane

Year built

1949

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mount Olive → La Porte

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA21LA392

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadequate preflight planning and fuel system inspection, which resulted in 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 and his friend went to purchase an airplane from an airport in North Carolina. After an inspection and test flight of the airplane, he stated that, “we filled both tanks and called it a day.” The pilot returned the next day to pick up the airplane and said that he checked the fuel tanks and they looked full. He departed the airport enroute home and climbed to an altitude of 4,500 ft. He was aloft for 3 hours, using the right tank for 1 hour 30 minutes, followed by the left tank for 1 hour 30 minutes. He said that the engine “quit running” and he switched back to the right fuel tank. The engine started and ran for a few minutes before stopping again. The pilot elected to conduct an emergency landing on a rough logging road. After the emergency landing, the pilot checked the fuel tanks and stated that they were both empty. During a telephone interview with the pilot, he stated that his friend refueled the airplane, and he did not know how much fuel was put into the tanks. The Federal Aviation Administration inspector who responded to the scene confirmed that both fuel tanks were empty of fuel. He did not observe any breaches of the fuel tanks, nor did he find any anomalies of the fueling system. During inspection of the airplane by a mechanic, structural damage was discovered on the firewall. The engine mount was also observed buckled.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.