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LAX91LA112

1991-02-24 · LOS ANGELES, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SMO

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE POOR PREFLIGHT PLANNING PERFORMED BY THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND IN ACCURATELY DETERMINING THE WEIGHT AND FUEL CONSUMPTION OF THE AIRPLANE WHICH RESULTED IN LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION.

Factual narrative

A PIPER PA 46-310P LOST ENGINE POWER AND WAS FORCED TO LAND IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA. EXAM OF THE AIRCRAFT FUEL SYSTEM REVEALED ABOUT ONE PINT OF FUEL IN EACH WING TANK. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF FUEL SPILLAGE OR ANY EVIDENCE AIRCRAFT FUEL LEAKS AT THE ACCIDENT SCENE. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF AN INFLIGHT FUEL LEAK ON THE AIRCRAFT FUSELAGE. THE PILOT INDICATED THAT HIS PLANNED FUEL CONSUMPTION SHOULD HAVE AVERAGED 17 GALLONS PER HOUR (GPH). THE AVERAGE FUEL CONSUMPTION FOR THE TRIP WAS 19.9 GPH. THE PIPER PA 46-310P, PILOT OPERATING HANDBOOK (POH) PREDICTS A FUEL CONSUMPTION OF 17.5 GPH FOR THE TRIP FLIGHT CONDITIONS. THE PILOT CALCULATED THE MAX GROSS WEIGHT (GWT) OF THE AIRCRAFT AT THE START OF THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT TO BE 4,116.7 POUNDS, 1.3 POUNDS BELOW THE MAX RAMP WT OF 4,118 POUNDS. THE WEIGHT OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS RECALCULATED BASED ON ACTUAL PASSENGER WEIGHTS AND ACTUAL BAGGAGE WEIGHTS. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DETERMINED TO BE 260 POUNDS OVER MAXIMUM GWT BEFORE TAKEOFF. THE POH DOES NOT LIST ANY PERFORMANCE DATA FOR AN AIRCRAFT BEING OPERATED OVER MAXIMUM GWT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_LAX91LA112.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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