Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Jerome, Idaho 83338
Friday, June 11, 2004 17:20 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he had made several flights on the day of the accident without refueling the airplane. On this the final flight, the pilot estimated there to be 1.5 hours of fuel remaining and departed with the intention of flying for 30 minutes. The pilot further reported that he "lost track of time" and, when he noticed the fuel was low, elected to return to the airport. Approximately three miles south of the airport, fuel pressure was lost and the pilot switched the fuel selector to the left tank. The engine ran for about 20 seconds then stopped. The pilot then executed a forced landing in a potato field. During the roll out, the nose wheel dug into the soft dirt resulting in a nose over.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to refuel the airplane resulting in fuel exhaustion and the loss of power during descent for landing. Factors contributing to the accident were the soft terrain and the forced landing site.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/11/2004
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1720
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Jerome
Event State IDAHO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 83338
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 424000N
Event Location Longitude 1142700W
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 Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 75
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.98
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16623
NTSB Notification Source FAA-ROC
NTSB Notification Date Jun 11 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1730
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2004 10:11AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Boise, Idaho

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2579N
NTSB Number SEA04LA104
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-38-112
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 38-79A0928
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 27 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 40
Airframe Hours 1828
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Robert R. Moore
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Shoshone
Aircraft Owner State ID
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 83352
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Robert R. Moore
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Shoshone
Operator State ID
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 83352
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 U73
Departure City JEROME
Departure State ID
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Jerome
Destination State ID
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 27 2004 2:32PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --