EVERGLADES CITY, FL, USA
N9640J
Piper PA-28-180
Postcrash interview with the pilot revealed he based his decision to not make an intermediate fuel stop on the fact that he had 14 gallons remaining when he did refuel at Naples Municipal Airport on a recent, identical trip. He rationalized that because heavy headwinds were encountered that first trip and he still had 14 gallons remaining when he landed for refueling, that this flight's fuel requirements would make a fuel stop unnecessary. He overflew Naples and nearby Everglades Airpark, then the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion. Miami ARTCC gave the pilot immediate vectors for Everglades Airpark, but his glide was about 6 miles short, and he crashed into mangrove trees within Everglades National Park.
On December 22, 1997, about 1847 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-180C, N9640J, registered to a private partnership, operated by Interstate Aircraft Services, as a 14 CFR 91 personal flight, crashed into a mangrove within U.S. National Park boundaries of the Florida Everglades. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and the private-rated pilot was receiving flight following from Miami ARTCC. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, and the pilot and passenger suffered minor injuries. The flight originated from Cook County Airport, Adel, Georgia, for Marathon, Florida, sometime between 1445 and 1530. Initial notification of the accident reported that the pilot radioed to Miami ARTCC, he was "low on fuel" followed shortly with a call that he was "out of fuel". The ARTCC controller gave the pilot an immediate reverse course vector to the nearest airport, Everglades Airpark; but instead, the airplane came to rest in mangrove trees on an island named "Un-named Island" about 6 miles south of the airport. The pilot had made the same trip with the same airplane about a month previously, and in that instance had refueled at Naples Municipal Airport, Naples, Florida. According to the pilot, in that instance he remembers the remaining fuel aboard was 14 gallons, and that fact, combined with his desire to arrive at Marathon during daylight hours, influenced his decision to not refuel the accident day. According to cruise performance charts contained in the aircraft operating handbook found in the wreckage, the trip could have been flown nonstop using procedures set forth therein. The charts state, "mixture leaned" and the pilot readily admits he used no leaning at any time during the flight. The owner/operator estimates departure time as 1445. The pilot estimates departure time as 1530. The airfield is non-towered, and no records were available. National Track Analysis Program, (NTAP) data supplied by Jacksonville ARTCC for N9640J, positions the airplane 12 miles south of Valdosta VOR at 9300 feet msl at 1532, (about 60 miles southeast of the departure point). The Park Rangers were the first on-scene, and stated there was no fuel smell at the crash site. On-site investigation of the wreckage by FAA personnel revealed both fuel tanks were ruptured in the crash, the adjacent foliage showed no signs of fuel spillage, and the engine or its components showed no signs of malfunction. Subsequent investigation of the wreckage by FAA and NTSB personnel revealed no fuel contained in the fuel filter or fuel lines, and about 3/4 inch of fuel in the bottom of the carburetor float chamber. The only record of rental flight time, either by tachometer time or Hobbs-meter time, was kept aboard the airplane, and was never recovered.
the pilot's improper fuel management and improper in-flight planning/decision, which resulted in fuel exhaustion, loss of engine power, and a forced landing. Related factors were: the light conditions at dusk, and the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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