Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Meadville, Pennsylvania 16335
Tuesady, October 13, 2009 9:52 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot, who was operating on an instrument-flight-rules flight plan, filed for an altitude of 6,000 feet and a flight time of 5 hours. He stated that the airplane contained 50 gallons of fuel, of which 48 gallons were usable, "enough for 6 hours of endurance." The pilot reported that, approximately 10 nautical miles from his destination, he noticed that the left fuel gauge indicated "empty" and the right fuel gauge was "just above empty." He estimated that he had "about 6 gallons." Shortly after, at 3,200 feet, the engine lost power. When he regained visual contact with the ground at approximately 2,500 feet, the pilot noticed a baseball field to his right "less than a half mile away" and attempted to turn towards it. During the turn, the airplane "lost altitude quickly and the right wing struck a tree." The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The engine, engine mounts, and firewall were pushed aft into the instrument panel, and the upper fuselage was buckled. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who responded to the accident scene reported that the fuel tanks and fuel lines were dry, and the propeller exhibited no signs of rotation on impact. The engine could be rotated by hand, and compression was obtained on all cylinders. The pilot and the FAA inspector both reported no mechanical malfunctions. According to information obtained from the airplane's FAA-approved flight manual, the engine consumed approximately 8.4 gallons per hour at 75% power when leaned to the manufacturer's specifications. The pilot stated that he was aware of strong headwinds forecasted for his route of flight, but they were about what he had expected and planned for during his preflight calculations.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate fuel planning.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/13/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 952 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Meadville |
| Event State | PENNSYLVANIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 16335 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 413801N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0800920W |
| 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 | Unknown |
| Time of the weather observation | 930 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 90 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | GKJ |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1400 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 5 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1600 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 600 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 9 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 8 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.15 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 26328 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 13 2009 3:43PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8886E |
| NTSB Number | ERA10CA016 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA28 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 140 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-7625164 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2150 |
| 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 | Sep 11 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 6579 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | John T. Bouley |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Tolland |
| Aircraft Owner State | CT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 06084 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | John T. Bouley |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Tolland |
| Operator State | CT |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 06084 |
| 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 | 7B9 |
| Departure City | Ellington |
| Departure State | CT |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 415 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | GKJ |
| Destination City | Meadville |
| Destination State | PA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 13 2009 3:43PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |