Pilot Debrief

Piper PA-38-112 near Kykotsmovi, AZ — 2008-06-07

Final reportLAX08CA166
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Date
2008-06-07
Location
Kykotsmovi, AZ, USA
Aircraft
Piper PA-38-112
Registration
N9276T
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

Fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's inadequate preflight planning and failure to ensure that adequate fuel was onboard to complete the flight.

NTSB narrative

The pilot believed he took off with 14 gallons of fuel aboard, and flew toward his destination, 170 miles away. He calculated that the fight should take 1 hour 40 minutes. En route he noticed that fuel was disappearing quickly, and assumed there was a headwind. After 1 hour 40 minutes, the airplane ran out of fuel, 57 statute miles from his destination, and the pilot landed in the desert. At a fuel consumption rate of 5.3 gallons per hour, the total actual fuel aboard at the time of takeoff was most likely 9 gallons.

NTSB coding

View NTSB final report

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