Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Sidney Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sidney, New York 13733
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 14:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that he last checked the fuel quantity before a flight that he conducted 2 weeks prior to the accident flight. During that flight, he noticed that the right auxiliary fuel gauge was inoperative. The airplane landed uneventfully and remained in a hangar until the accident flight. The purpose of the accident flight was to drain fuel from the right auxiliary fuel tank, in order for maintenance work to be performed on the fuel tank sending unit. The pilot did not check the fuel quantity prior to the accident flight as he estimated that sufficient fuel remained from the previous flight. The pilot completed a 20-minute local flight and was on final approach to land, with the fuel selector positioned to the right auxiliary fuel tank, when a low fuel pressure indicator light illuminated in the cockpit. At that time, the airplane was about 800 feet above ground level, over a populated town. The pilot activated the fuel boost pump, but did not reposition the fuel selector to a different fuel tank. The engine subsequently experienced a total loss of power and the pilot performed a forced landing into trees and a river. During the landing, the airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot further stated that the accident was "pilot error" as he ran the right auxiliary fuel tank dry.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate fuel planning and management, which resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power during final approach.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/27/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1430 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Sidney |
| Event State | NEW YORK |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 13733 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 421809N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0752458W |
| Event Location Airport | Sidney Municipal Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | N23 |
| 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 | 1027 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1453 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 260 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BGM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1636 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 20 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 5000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| 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) | 13 |
| 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) | 29.99 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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 Docket Number (internal use) | 28904 |
| 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 | Sep 7 2011 2:06PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N7365P |
| NTSB Number | ERA11CA425 |
| 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 | 24-2543 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3100 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 2 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 2 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 20 |
| Airframe Hours | 5087 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | PETZOLD MILTON H |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | BAINBRIDGE |
| Aircraft Owner State | NY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 13733-1225 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | PETZOLD MILTON H |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | BAINBRIDGE |
| Operator State | NY |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 13733-1225 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | N23 |
| Departure City | Sidney |
| Departure State | NY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1400 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | N23 |
| Destination City | Sidney |
| Destination State | NY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 7 2011 2:06PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 25 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |