NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CEN25LA065
Registry · N5263W
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PIPER PA-28
Year of manufacture
1962 · 62 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19620122
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A6A20E
Registrant of record
CJCO HOLDINGS LLC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s improper in-flight fuel planning which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation and a subsequent off-field landing on rough terrain.
Factual narrative
Prior to the flight, the pilot checked the fuel level and noted the airplane contained about 38 gallons of fuel. During the cross-country flight, the pilot switched fuel tanks about every 15 minutes. While on approach about 3 miles from the destination airport with the fuel selector in the left tank position, the engine began to intermittently lose power. With the electric fuel pump on, the pilot pumped the throttle, and the engine temporarily regained full power. The pilot attempted to gain some altitude when the engine lost total power. Unable to make the airport, the pilot conducted an off-field landing, during which the left wing sustained substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the left fuel tank was empty, and the right fuel tank contained 8 gallons of fuel. 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).
- — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Rough terrain-Contributed to outcome
- — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2024_CEN25LA065.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel starvation). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
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