Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Wigrove Air Park Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Wilgrove, North Carolina 28212
Wednesday, May 7, 1997 5:40 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot had contacted Charlotte Approach Control, and requested assistance. The airplane was radar identified, and given the location of the airport. Radar and radio contact was lost, and a short time later, approach control was notified by the police that the airplane had crashed. The airplane impacted in a residential area. There was no damage to property or any injuries to any persons on the ground. According to the passengers they were flying back from Florida when '...motor cut off minutes from runway, started back up again ran for about 20 seconds, shut down again...would not start again.' Examination of the wreckage revealed that the fuel system was not breached, the fuel pump switch was in the 'ON' position, and the fuel selector was selected to the left tank. No fuel was found in the tanks, or the fuel lines, and there was no evidence of fuel spillage in the crash area. There was about '1 ounce' of fuel that was drained from the fuel sediment bowl. The fuel from the bowl was clean and 'free of foreign matter.' The last known fuel input was shortly before midnight on May 6, 1997, in Jacksonville, Florida. The engine was examined, and revealed no discrepancies. According to the Piper PA-28-180 manual, this model airplane's fuel consumption was about 13.5 gallon per hour (gph). The airplane held 50 gallons total, of which 48 was usable. The distance flown from the last refueling was about 450 miles, and the duration of the flight was about 4 to 5 hours. The exact time of departure is unknown, but the airplane was refuel around midnight at the last reported refueling stop. Several attempts were made to have the pilot return the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, and it was received on September 4, 1997. According to his statement they landed at Fernandina Beach Airport, Florida, 'to purchase fuel,' May 6, 1997, continued to Ft. Lauderdale, with an approximate arrival around 1800. He returned to the FBO around 2200, and 'fill[ed] the plane with fuel' and before going to Charlotte. They stopped at Jacksonville, and said that he ' fill the airplane again.' The 'best I recall,' when we left Jacksonville, it was approximately 03:00 [0300] to 03:30 A.M [0330]. In addition the pilot said, '...after we were airborne is the end of my memory until about 3 1/2 weeks later....' .
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's improper planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a forced landing short of the intended destination airport.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/7/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 540 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | WILGROVE |
| Event State | NORTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 28212 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | WIGROVE AIR PARK |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 8A6 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 135 |
| Airport Elevation | 799 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 530 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 270 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | CTL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 799 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 5 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Dawn |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 8000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 15 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 20 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 3 |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 453 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 7 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 630 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:17PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3976R |
| NTSB Number | MIA97LA156 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28-180 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-28-180 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-7105081 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2175 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 1 1996 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 188 |
| Airframe Hours | 3648 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | FLYINC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 202 CLIFTON RIDGE CT. |
| Aircraft Owner City | LOUISBERG |
| Aircraft Owner State | NC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 27549 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 55J |
| Departure City | FERNANDINA BEAC |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 0 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 8A6 |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |