Piper PA-24-250 accident near Wilkesboro, NC
On June 20, 2006, a Piper PA-24-250 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Wilkesboro, NC. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- June 20, 2006
- Place
- Wilkesboro, NC
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24-250 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 36.220°N, 81.092°W
- NTSB ID
- 20060626X00816
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On June 20, 2006, at 1600 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-24-250, N5626P, registered to and operated by a private individual, as a 14 CFR Part 91, personal flight, collided with the ground during a forced landing following loss of engine power, 3 miles from the Wilkes County Airport, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The private pilot received fatal injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated from Kissimmee, Florida, on June 20, 2006, at 1230. According to Air Traffic Controllers at the FAA Charlotte, North Carolina, Approach Control and the FAA Atlanta, Georgia, Air Route Traffic Control Center, the pilot of N5626P was heard making a distress call at about 1555 on the 121.5 emergency frequency. The pilot stated that he was out of fuel and descending. No further contact with the pilot was made. Search and rescue operations were initiated and the airplane and pilot were located in a pasture, about 3 miles from the Wilkes County Airport, by the Wilkes County Sheriffs Department. According to witnesses at the Kissimmee Gateway Airport in Kissimmee, Florida, the pilot departed for Sandusky, Ohio, with a planned refueling stop in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The pilot topped off the fuel tanks before departing Kissimmee at 0830. While enroute, the pilot reported to the Jacksonville Center, that he had a vacuum pump malfunction and elected to returned to Kissimmee, landing there at 0945. A mechanic removed and replaced the vacuum pump and the
Probable cause
The pilot's improper fuel consumption calculations and improper in-flight planning/decision which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, a forced landing, and collision with terrain.
More accidents in NC
- Douglas DC-9-31, Jul 2, 1994
- Beech 1900D, Jan 8, 2003
- Pilatus Aircraft Ltd PC-12/47E, Feb 13, 2022
- Cessna 550, Dec 18, 2025
- Beech D55, Jan 9, 1983
Browse: North Carolina · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
