Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Evans, Georgia 30809
Tuesady, November 20, 2001 10:30 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that about 40 minutes into the flight, at an altitude of about 3,000 feet, all of a sudden, and without warning, the engine ceased operating. He said he performed the emergency procedures, but was unable to get the engine operating again, and he affected a forced landing at the edge of a wooded area. A witness stated that he was in a parking lot, and he saw the airplane, and heard it "cutting on and off", and "waving" back and forth, before it crashed. A detective with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office stated that the pilot told him that he ran out of fuel and tried to land in an open field, but ended up crashing on the bank of a private pond. According to the FAA inspector who responded to the accident scene, the accident airplane's right wing had been destroyed, along with its associated fuel tank as a result of the impact, but the left wing had remained intact. The inspector further stated that the fuel tank in the left wing was found to be nearly full of fuel, and examination of fuel lines from the gascolator to the fuel pump, and from the fuel pump to the carburetor did not reveal any evidence of fuel. The NTSB conducted an operational test of the engine at Atlanta Air Salvage, Griffin, Georgia, and it functioned, exhibiting no evidence of preaccident failure or malfunction. In addition, a detailed examination and test of the airplane's carburetor revealed no anomalies.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper fuel management and failure switch to the other fuel tank which had fuel available prior to the engine ceasing to operate, which resulted in fuel starvation and damage to the airplane during an off-airport landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/20/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1030 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Evans |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 30809 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 332219N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0820000W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 953 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 345 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AGS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 145 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 8500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 9 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 16 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 0 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.01 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 0 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 12823 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ATL Comm. Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 20 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1100 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 1 2003 4:20PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Atlanta, Georgia |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6688P |
| NTSB Number | MIA02LA025 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-24-250 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 24-1329 |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 5 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 5 |
| Airframe Hours | 3660 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | John J. Davis |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 501 Holly Creek Drive |
| Aircraft Owner City | Anderson |
| Aircraft Owner State | SC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 29621 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| 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? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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 | AND |
| Departure City | Anderson |
| Departure State | SC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 930 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | AGS |
| Destination City | Agusta |
| Destination State | GA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise - normal |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 11 2002 2:09PM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |