Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Wimberley, Texas 78676
Saturday, October 21, 2006 11:50 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The 201-hour private pilot departed at about 11:15 on a local cross-country flight with 6 quarts of oil in the engine and 12 gallons of fuel on board. After takeoff, he climbed to 2,500 with the electric boost pump on. Later, during cruise flight the "engine powered back" and the pilot tried to reapply full power to the engine by "checking the fuses and [fuel] primer, as well as, turning on the electric fuel pump and turning to the left fuel tank." The engine did not respond and the pilot elected to execute a forced landing in a field. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB IIC, the pilot stated that the engine "sputtered out" and "then came back, sputtering again" before "quitting completely." During the recovery of the airplane, recovery personnel reported draining 7 gallons of fuel from the right fuel tank and that the left tank was empty. An engine inspection was conducted on November 15, 2006. The engine sustained minimum impact damage during the accident sequence. The engine was rotated by hand; continuity through the engine's valve train and compression on each cylinder was established. The bracket air filter was in place, and appeared in good condition and free of obstructions. The airplane's electrical system was turned on and the electric fuel boost pump was switched on; the electric pump appeared to operate normally. Approximately two tablespoons of fuel was drained from the carburetor. The gascolator was opened and found to be dry and clear, the screen at the top of the gascolator was in-place and free of any debris. The engine was examined and no mechanical anomalies were noted. The airplane's information manual states under Fuel Limitations: "... The unusable fuel for this airplane has been determined as 1.0 gallon in each wing in critical flight attitudes." Additionally, the manual states that fuel consumption during cruise flight would be 6.5 gallons/hour (75%, Best Power setting).
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's inadequate pre-flight planning which resulted in fuel starvation and the subsequent the loss of engine power. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/21/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1150 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Wimberley |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 78676 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 295935N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0980237W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1155 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 145 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KHYI |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 17 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.89 |
| 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) | 21160 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA comm center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 23 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 26 2007 9:33AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | San Antonio, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2426N |
| NTSB Number | DFW07LA009 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| 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-38-112 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 38-79A0837 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Jan 1 2006 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 7602 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Nathan Lessard |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | -- |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 78130 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 9801 W Parmer Lane, |
| Operator City | Austin |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 78717 |
| 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 | 5R3 |
| Departure City | LAGO VISTA |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Wimberley |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 4 2007 6:01PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |