Piper PA-31-350 accident near Leesburg, FL
On December 24, 2012, a Piper PA-31-350 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Leesburg, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- December 24, 2012
- Place
- Leesburg, FL
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 28.864°N, 81.812°W
- NTSB ID
- 20121224X20556
Official records · ERA13FA096
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Air Traffic Control Communications Transcript: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
On December 24, 2012, about 1435 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-31-350, N78WM, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain during a forced landing following a loss of power in both engines near Leesburg, Florida. The private pilot was fatally injured and the pilot-rated passenger was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight, which departed Eagles Nest Aerodrome (FD44), Crescent City, Florida, at 1405, and was destined for Leesburg International Airport (LEE), Leesburg, Florida. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.According to the pilot-rated passenger, who was also the pilot's wife, the pilot completed the preflight inspection of the airplane and prepared for their departure while she was shopping. Upon returning home, she boarded the airplane, secured the aft cabin door, and prepared the cabin for departure as she would normally do prior to any other flight. She then sat down in the front right seat of the airplane about the time the pilot had taxied onto the runway. Shortly after takeoff, and while reading through the after takeoff checklist, she noticed that the fuel quantity in the left and right fuel tanks appeared to be low, with the left gauge reading slightly above 1/4-tank of fuel and the right gauge reading slightly below 1/4 tank of fuel. When the passenger queried the pilot about the fuel quantities, the pilot replied that the left fuel gauge always indicated a greater quantity of fuel than the right gauge, and that
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent total loss of power in both engines during cruise flight. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s use of prescription and illicit drugs, which likely impaired his judgment.
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Browse: Florida · 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.
