Piper PA-28-181 accident near Safety Harbor, FL
On March 22, 2014, a Piper PA-28-181 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Safety Harbor, FL. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- March 22, 2014
- Place
- Safety Harbor, FL
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-181 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 28.000°N, 82.709°W
- NTSB ID
- 20140322X60839
Official records · ERA14FA162
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- ATC Transcript: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On March 22, 2014, at 0400 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-181, N8309L, operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged when it collided with powerlines, during a forced landing to a highway in Safety Harbor, Florida, near Saint Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (PIE), Clearwater, Florida. The private pilot and one passenger were fatally injured, while a second passenger was seriously injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the planned flight to PIE. The flight departed John C Tune Airport (JWN), Nashville, Tennessee at 2338 eastern daylight time on March 21, 2014. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot completed an earlier leg of the long cross-country flight uneventfully, from Campbell Airport (C81), Grayslake, Illinois to JWN. During the second leg, the pilot radioed a "fuel emergency" to air traffic control at 0359:36. The controller queried the pilot twice as to his request and at 0400:03, the pilot replied "landing on the highway sir, fuel emergency." No further transmissions were received from the accident airplane. The airplane subsequently impacted powerlines about 6 miles north of PIE. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on October 31, 2013. At that time, he reported a total flight experience
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's impairment due to cocaine use.
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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.
