Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Bluffton Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Bluffton, Ohio 45817
Sunday, July 30, 2000 14:26 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot departed with full fuel from Bluffton Airport (5G7), Bluffton, Ohio, and flew to Rock County Airport (JVL), Janesville, Wisconsin. In Janesville, the pilot purchased 21.7 gallons of fuel, then flew to Whittman Regional Airport (OSH), Oshkosh, Wisconsin, a total of 94.9 nautical miles. A few days later, the pilot departed OSH and flew to 5G7, a total of 314 nautical miles. Examination of potential fuel stops along the intended route of flight revealed that none had fueled N5271P. On final approach to 5G7, the airplane was observed to bank sharply to the right, then 'nose dive straight down into the field.' A thin tree line ran perpendicular to the final approach course, and was located between the wreckage and the end of the runway. On-scene examination revealed that there was no evidence of fuel in either wing tank. Both tanks were intact and there was no evidence of fuel streaking or staining. Examination of the fuel lines revealed that they were intact and clear of blockages. Examination of the engine and airplane revealed there were no mechanical deficiencies.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Pilot's improper fuel calculations, which resulted in fuel exhaustion. Also causal, was his abrupt maneuver during the forced landing, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/30/2000 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1426 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | BLUFFTON |
| Event State | OHIO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 45817 |
| Event Date Year | 2000 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | BLUFFTON |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 5G7 |
| 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 | 30 |
| Airport Elevation | 850 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1353 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 210 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AOH |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 975 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 12 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 9 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 18 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 200 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| 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 | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 11142 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern Region Comm Ctr |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 30 2000 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1500 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 4 2001 12:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N5271P |
| NTSB Number | IAD00FA067 |
| 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-24-250 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-24-250 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 24-309 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2800 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 3 2000 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 24 |
| Airframe Hours | 2889 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | CLIFTON E. DAVIS |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | |
| Aircraft Owner City | LIMA |
| Aircraft Owner State | OH |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 45807 |
| 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 | OSH |
| Departure City | OSH KOSH |
| Departure State | WI |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 0 |
| Departure Time Zone | |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 5G7 |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | OH |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 8 2001 4:02AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 23 |
| Runway Length | 4125 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |