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CEN22LA384

2022-08-12 · Kearney, Nebraska, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport KEAR

Current FAA registration · N5253P

Make / Model
PIPER PA-24-250
Engine
LYCOMING 0-540 SERIES (250 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A69E50

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s inadequate in-flight planning that resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that while on a short cross-country flight and near his destination airport, the airplane’s engine lost power. The pilot subsequently performed a wheels-up landing on a gravel road. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right side of the fuselage. A postaccident inspection of the airplane at the accident site revealed that both wing fuel tanks were empty. No other preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions were found with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The loss of engine power was due to fuel exhaustion. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-(general)-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_CEN22LA384.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel exhaustion). All research papers