Event CEN16LA225

Factual narrative

On June 19, 2016, about 2232 central daylight time, a Piper PA-24-180 airplane, N5661R, was substantially damaged after it impacted the roof of a warehouse following a complete loss of engine power during approach to William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), Houston, Texas. The pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The airplane departed from an unknown airport near St. Louis, Missouri, about 1730 and was destined for HOU.When the airplane was about six miles north of HOU the pilot informed the controller he had lost all engine power and would not be able to make it the to airport. The controller dispatched emergency equipment to the airplane's last known position and a police helicopter quickly found the wreckage on the roof of a 40-foot tall warehouse. Emergency responders treated the pilot at the scene, lowered him from the warehouse roof, and transported him to the hospital. There was no evidence of a fuel spill and there was no post-impact fire . According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who examined the airplane, no fuel was found in either fuel tank. In a hospital interview, the pilot told the inspector that the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion. No information was obtained during the investigation that detailed where the pilot had departed from or how much fuel was onboard the airplane at the start of the accident flight. The private pilot was about 6 miles from the destination airport when he informed the controller that the airplane had lost all engine power and would not be able to make it to the airport. The airplane struck the roof of a 40-ft-tall warehouse. No fuel was found in either fuel tank, and there was no evidence of a fuel spill. The pilot stated after the accident that the engine had lost power due to fuel exhaustion. No information was obtained during the investigation that detailed where the pilot had departed from or how much fuel was on board the airplane at the start of the accident flight. It is likely that the pilot departed with insufficient fuel on board for the planned flight or that he did not monitor his fuel usage during the flight; either of these scenarios would have resulted in the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Residence/building-Contributed to outcome