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FTW92LA041

1991-12-09 · HOUSTON, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport IWS

Current FAA registration · N55839

Make / Model
PIPER PA-28-235
Engine
LYCOMING 0-540 SERIES (250 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19730616
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A72006

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO CORRECTLY CALCULATE FUEL CONSUMPTION AND THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. A FACTOR WAS THE UNSUITABLE TERRAIN.

Factual narrative

DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB, 50 - 75 FEET AGL, OF A NIGHT TAKEOFF THE AIRPLANE EXPERIENCED A COMPLETE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AND WAS FORCED TO LAND IN UNSUITABLE TERRAIN. THE PILOT HAD FAILED TO CALCULATE HIS FUEL USAGE, RESULTING IN FUEL STARVATION. AFTER LANDING THE AIRPLANES FUEL TANK SELECTION LEVER WAS PLACED TO A TANK WITH FUEL. FOLLOWING THE SELECTION CHANGE THE ENGINE WAS STARTED WITHOUT PROBLEMS AND A FUNCTIONAL CHECK OF THE ENGINE REVEALED NO ANOMALIES. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_FTW92LA041.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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