Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Rhinelander, Wisconsin 54501
Thursday, July 3, 2014 8:00 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A pre-flight inspection of the airplane before an aerial application flight revealed the airplane's fuel tank quantity was 3/4 full of fuel. Two aerial application flights lasted approximately one hour. The aircraft was loaded a third time. The loader inquired if the aircraft needed fuel. The pilot checked the fuel gauge and informed the loader that there was slightly less than 1/2 tank. He said that the airplane would require fuel on the next load. The aircraft departed and flew for approximately 10 minutes. The engine stopped producing power, the pilot jettisoned the load, and he performed a forced landing on an adjacent field. The airplane nosed over and sustained substantial wing, fuselage, and empennage damage. No fuel was found on-scene in the airplane's fuel tanks or under the inverted airplane. Fuel was added to the fuel tank and the engine operated. 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 | 7/3/2014 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 800 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Rhinelander |
| Event State | WISCONSIN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 54501 |
| Event Date Year | 2014 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 454442N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0891630W |
| Event Location Airport | N/A |
| 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 | 753 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 232 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KRHI |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1624 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 11 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| 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) | 9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 270 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.13 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KRHI 031253Z AUTO 27004KT 10SM CLR 14/09 A3013 RMK |
| 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) | 32963 |
| 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 22 2014 9:01PM |
| User who most recently changed record | male |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8730L |
| NTSB Number | CEN14CA344 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 137: Agricultural |
| 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 25-235 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 25-5191 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2900 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 20 2014 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 14562 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | WALKER AVIATION LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | ANTIGO |
| Aircraft Owner State | WI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 544099210 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | WALKER AVIATION LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | ANTIGO |
| Operator State | WI |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 544099210 |
| Operator Code | 3WAG |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| 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) | Aerial Application |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Rhinelander |
| Departure State | WI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 750 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Rhinelander |
| Destination State | WI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 22 2014 9:02PM |
| User who most recently changed record | male |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |