Event WPR17LA092

Factual narrative

On April 3, 2017, about 2200 Pacific daylight time, a Piper 28-140 airplane, N55339, made an emergency landing in a trucking yard near Whittier, California, following a loss of engine power. The airline transport pilot was uninjured. The airplane's left wing was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Temecula, California at an unknown time, and was destined for San Diego, California. The pilot reported to local law enforcement that while he was flying at 1,000 ft, the airplane's engine lost power, and he executed an emergency landing in a large trucking yard. While landing, the airplane's left wing struck a stop sign. The trucking yard was 61 miles northwest of the departure airport, when his intended destination was 60 miles south of the departure airport. A witness reported that he heard a "loud weird noise" coming from the sky. He observed the airplane, with no lights on, coming from the south area of the parking lot; it struck a stop sign and drug it along the ground until the airplane came to a rest. The witness went over to the airplane to make sure the pilot was ok; during their conversation, the pilot would be very distraught, then would suddenly appear as if nothing had happened. His emotions switched back and forth several times during their conversation. Local law enforcement reported that they could smell a strong odor of alcohol emitting from the pilot's breath/person, and his eyes were blood shot, red, and watery. In addition, he was slurring and mumbling his words, and he was unable to standup. The on scene officers conducted a standardized field sobriety test and the pilot did not pass. Subsequently, he was arrested for operating an aircraft while under the influence. A formal blood test, which was administered about 5 hours after the accident, revealed the pilot had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.16%. A sergeant from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Aero Bureau examined the airplane and observed the fuel selector was set to the right fuel tank. He turned the master electrical switch "ON" and checked the fuel gauges; the right fuel gauge indicated empty, and the left fuel gauge indicated between 0-5 gallons. A Federal Aviation Administration Inspector examined the fuel tanks and reported that they were intact and undamaged. Ethanol is a social drug that acts as a central nervous system depressant. After ingestion, at low doses, it impairs judgment, psychomotor functioning, and vigilance; at higher doses alcohol can cause coma and death. The effects of alcohol on aviators are generally well understood; alcohol significantly impairs pilots' performance, even at very low levels. Federal Aviation Regulations (FAA), Section 91.17 (a) prohibits any person from acting or attempting to act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft while having 0.040 gm/dl or more alcohol in the blood. Despite numerous attempts, neither the investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), nor the inspector from the FAA were able to make contact with the pilot. The pilot did not submit the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report Form 6120.1. The airline transport pilot reported to local law enforcement that, while he was flying at 1,000 ft, the airplane's engine experienced a total loss of power. He subsequently conducted a forced landing onto a large trucking yard. The landing site was about 61 miles northwest of the departure airport and in the opposite direction of his intended destination. Examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel selector was set to the right fuel tank. The master electrical switch was "ON," the right fuel gauge indicated empty, and the left fuel gauge indicated between 0 and 5 gallons. The fuel tanks were intact and undamaged. It is likely that the loss of engine power was the result of fuel starvation. Responding law enforcement officers reported that they could smell a strong odor of alcohol emitting from the pilot's breath/person. A formal blood test, which was administered about 5 hours after the accident, revealed that the pilot had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.16%. The effects of ethanol on aviators are generally well understood; it significantly impairs pilots' performance, even at very low levels. Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit any person from acting or attempting to act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft while having 0.040 gm/dl or more ethanol in the blood. 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).

• C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C
• C Personnel issues-Physical-Impairment/incapacitation-Alcohol-Pilot - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid management - C
• C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring equip/instruments-Pilot - C
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-(general)-Effect on equipment
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Light condition-Dark-Effect on operation