Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Port Isabel-Cameron County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Port Isabel, Texas 78566
Wednesday, June 18, 2014 15:10 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot checked weather and requested that the airplane be serviced with full fuel before the cross-country flight. Fuel receipts show the airplane was serviced with 34.5 gallons. The airplane's fuel capacity was 50 gallons. He performed a preflight inspection of the airplane to include confirming that its fuel tanks were full. About an hour after takeoff, the pilot checked the fuel gages, which indicated that less than 10 gallons was used. About two hours after takeoff, they indicated that less than 20 gallons was used. About three hours after takeoff, the gages indicated that 28 gallons was used. The pilot indicated that he would have stopped for fuel if there were less than 17 gallons of fuel remaining at that point in the flight. The pilot continued the flight and estimated the airplane had 12 gallons of fuel remaining when it was 17 miles from the destination. He reported that the left tank fuel pressure decreased with 2.5 gallons showing on the gauge prompting a switch to the right tank, which showed 6 gallons remaining. About nine miles from the destination and 1,000 feet above the ground, the airplane flew through brief moderate turbulence. The right fuel tank level dropped to zero fuel within a minute along with a drop in fuel pressure. The pilot started to switch from tank to tank trying to use all the fuel in the tanks. When the airplane lost engine power, he selected a field and performed a forced landing about four hours and ten minutes after departure. The airplane sustained substantial fuselage damage during the forced landing. No fuel leaks were found during the airplane recovery. The left fuel tank contained about one cup of fuel and the right tank did not contain any fuel. A flight-planning chart in the airplane's manual indicated that the airplane should burn ten gallons per hour with a lean mixture. According to the Federal Aviation Administration publication, The Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, "aircraft certification rules require accuracy in fuel gauges only when they read 'empty.' Any reading other than 'empty' should be verified. Do not depend solely on the accuracy of the fuel quantity gauges."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A loss of engine power due to the pilot's improper inflight planning and reliance of fuel gauge readings, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/18/2014 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1510 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Port Isabel |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 78566 |
| Event Date Year | 2014 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 261056N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0972110W |
| Event Location Airport | PORT ISABEL-CAMERON COUNTY |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | PIL |
| 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 | 339 |
| Airport Elevation | 19 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1453 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 159 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KPIL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 19 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2100 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 6 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 33 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 22 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 21 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 26 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.93 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KPIL 181953Z AUTO 15021G26KT 6SM HZ FEW021 SCT035 |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 32968 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-AGL-ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 9 2014 9:33PM |
| User who most recently changed record | male |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N66AS |
| NTSB Number | CEN14CA303 |
| 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 28-180 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-4939 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2400 |
| 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 | Nov 18 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 174 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Pilot |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | ABILENE |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 796065803 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Pilot |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | ABILENE |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 796065803 |
| 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 | ABI |
| Departure City | ABILENE |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1100 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | PIL |
| Destination City | Port Isabel |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 9 2014 9:35PM |
| User who most recently changed record | male |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 13 |
| Runway Length | 8001 |
| Runway Width | 200 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |