NTSB CAROL · Event
Event SEA92LA194
Registry · N1005B
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PIPER PA-46-310P
Year of manufacture
1987 · 5 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR TSIO-520 SER (300 hp)
Seats / Engines
6 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19871109
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A007BD
Registrant of record
RUCKER CASEY J
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
A MISJUDGED APPROACH. FACTORS TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: INACCURATE FUEL CONSUMPTION CALCULATIONS AND FUEL EXHAUSTION.
Factual narrative
DURING A BUSINESS CROSS COUNTRY FLT, THE PLT REPORTED THAT HE WAS AWARE OF A LOW FUEL STATUS WHILE EN ROUTE, BUT THOUGHT THAT HE COULD MAKE IT TO HIS FINAL DESTINATION WITHOUT STOPPING FOR FUEL. THE FLT WAS CLEARED TO DESCEND AT 96 MILES FROM THE ARPT. AT APRX 16 TO 18 MILES FROM THE ARPT, THE ENGINE LOST POWER. DURING THE DESCENT, THE PLT FELT THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS HIGH ON THE APPROACH AND EXTENDED THE LANDING GEAR AND LOWERED ONE NOTCH OF FLAPS. AT APRX ONE HALF MILE FROM THE RWY, THE AIRPLANE BEGAN TO DESCEND BELOW THE INTENDED GLIDE. UNABLE TO REACH THE RWY, THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN APRX 200 FT SHORT OF THE RWY, COLLIDING WITH THE TERRAIN DURING THE LANDING ROLL. AFTER THE ACCIDENT, THE PLT REPORTED THAT HE APPARENTLY DID NOT HAVE AS MUCH FUEL ON BOARD AS HE THOUGHT HE DID BEFORE TAKEOFF, AND MISJUDGED THE APPROACH BY LOWERING THE LANDING GEAR TOO SOON. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1992_SEA92LA194.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 exhaustion). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- AOPA Air Safety Institute 2023 · Safety advisor
Safety Advisor: Fuel Awareness
AOPA Air Safety Institute safety advisor on preventing fuel-exhaustion and fuel-starvation accidents in general aviation. Covers pre-flight fuel planning, reserve requirements (14 CFR 91.151, 91.167),…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Abstract
U.S. Civil Rotorcraft Accidents, 1963 through 1997
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recorded 8,436 rotorcraft accidents during the period mid - 1963 through the end of 1997.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR)
A study of carburetor/induction system icing in general aviation accidents
An assessment of the frequency and severity of carburetor/induction icing in general-aviation accidents was performed. The available literature and accident data from the National Transportation Safet…
- NASA NTRS 2018 · Other
Parachuting to Safety
NASA's Langley Research Center awarded Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc., three Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to research and develop a new, low cost, lightweight recovery system …
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗