Firebaugh Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Firebaugh, California 93622
Monday, March 23, 2009 18:00 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported departing with about 45 gallons of fuel onboard. She initiated a climb to 10,500 feet, and turned on course direct to the destination airport. About 3 1/2 hours into the flight, she checked the fuel gauges, and estimated that there was enough fuel remaining for about 1 hour 10 minutes of flight. About 15 minutes later the engine stopped producing power. The pilot observed one of the gauges was now reading empty, so she switched to the other tank; the engine then regained power, and she diverted to an alternate airport. During the landing approach, the engine then lost power again, and the pilot performed a forced landing in a plowed field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing during the accident sequence. Post accident inspection revealed that both tanks were intact and absent of fuel. No obvious sources of a fuel leak were noted. The pilot reported encountering strong headwinds during the flight, and further stated that she was not comfortable with the leaning procedure for the airplane type.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate fuel planning and monitoring.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/23/2009
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1800
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Firebaugh
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93622
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 365135n
Event Location Longitude 1202752w
Event Location Airport Firebaugh
Event Location Nearest Airport ID F34
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 --
Airport Elevation 157
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 65
Weather Observation Facility ID MAE
Elevation of weather observation facility 255
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 19
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.25
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 26247
NTSB Notification Source FAA LAX Regional Operations Ce
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 5 2012 2:22PM
User who most recently changed record snyg
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1857H
NTSB Number WPR09LA164
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-28-181
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-7790348
Certified Max Gross Weight 2558
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 1 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 21
Airframe Hours 10751
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91-A
Aircraft Owner Name Masavion LTD
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Saratoga
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95070-3032
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Joan Oloff
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Los Gatos
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 95030-7161
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 PSP
Departure City Palm Springs
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1400
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code RHV
Destination City San Jose
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 29 2009 4:27PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 30
Runway Length 3102
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --