Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Ukiah, California 95412
Wednesday, February 16, 2000 8:50 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Fuel levels in both fuel tanks were 1 inch from the top of the filler neck when the airplane departed Hayward, California, en route to Ukiah. The right tank was selected for the flight to Ukiah, the landing, and the subsequent takeoff for the return trip to Hayward. A right turn was initiated after departure from runway 33 at an altitude of 400 feet agl. Passing through 500 feet, the pilot encountered a power fluctuation, which concerned him enough to continue his turn to set up for a landing on runway 15. The engine then quit producing power, and the pilot set up a glide to attempt a return to the airport. After advancing the mixture, throttle, and propeller controls, he verified the ignition was on, but did not have time to switch fuel tanks. The airplane collided with a fence along the airport boundary. The FAA accident coordinator observed the fuel selector on the right tank and drained 12 ounces of fuel from that tank. The fuel inlet line to the engine was examined and no fuel was present. The left tank fuel level was 1 inch below the filler neck. The takeoff and approach and landing checklists in the Owner's Handbook instruct the pilot to select the fullest tank for landing and the proper tank for takeoff.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
failure of the pilot to comply with the checklists in the Owner's Handbook, resulting in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/16/2000 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 850 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | UKIAH |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 95412 |
| Event Date Year | 2000 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Unknown |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 850 |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | UKI |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 0 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | |
| Lighting Conditions | Not Reported |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 9000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 5000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| 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) | 9 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -18 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 964 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 16 2000 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1440 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 2 2001 2:30PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1452T |
| NTSB Number | LAX00LA088 |
| 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 | Unknown |
| Aircraft Explosion | Unknown |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-32-300 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-32-300 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | Unknown |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | -- |
| Number of Engines | -- |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | |
| Aircraft Owner City | |
| Aircraft Owner State | |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | H. JAMES KNUPPE |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 5601 JENSEN RD |
| Operator City | CASTRO VALLEY |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 94552 |
| 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 | Unknown |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | UKI |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 0 |
| Departure Time Zone | |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | HWD |
| Destination City | HAYWARD |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 30 2000 9:49PM |
| 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 | -- |