Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA31 near Lemoore, CA — 2024-06-18

Final reportWPR24LA212
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Date
2024-06-18
Location
Lemoore, CA, USA
Airport
KNLC
Aircraft
PIPER PA31
Registration
C-GJBG
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

The pilot’s improper in-flight decision making which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and a subsequent emergency landing.

NTSB narrative

The left-seated pilot stated that she was recently hired with the operator and was new to flying survey operations. The right-seated pilot was training her for survey operations. They filed a flight plan for a 5-hour survey flight and filled the fuel tanks full. After takeoff, the fuel selector was set to the outboard tanks and after 1 hour and 50 minutes, the inboard tanks were selected. After another 2 hours and 20 minutes, the pilot noticed lower-than-expected fuel on the gauges and opted to end the flight early. Approximately 10 minutes after turning back, the engines had intermittent power loss and were sputtering due to low fuel. The pilot made a request to land at a nearby Naval Base and declared an emergency. The controller communicated runway 14L was closed. The pilot approached runway 14R and noticed people and objects on the runway. They were redirected to land on another runway, but the airplane was too low and touched down on grass. The airplane continued the landing roll into a security fence, damaging the fuselage and both wings. The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that precluded normal operation.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 2 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents2

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