| Crash location | 34.013056°N, 84.598611°W |
| Nearest city | Kennesaw, GA
34.023434°N, 84.615490°W 1.2 miles away |
| Tail number | N3035L |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 26 Dec 2001 |
| Aircraft type | Piper PA-28-161 |
| Additional details: | None |
On December 26, 2001, at 2152 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-161, N3035L registered to Flite Services LLC, operated by Sierra Aviation as 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight collided with power lines during an attempted forced landing near Kennesaw, Georgia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A visual flight plan was filed but was not activated. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The flight originated from Cleveland, Ohio, at 1648.
The pilot stated he filed a visual flight plan to Knoxville, Tennessee. While talking with Knoxville Approach he decided he had sufficient fuel to continue flight to Clayton County Airport in Jonesboro, Georgia. He climbed to his cruising altitude and proceeded to the Atlanta VOR. He was located north of the Knoxville, Volunteer VOR, when he checked his fuel status and determined that he still had sufficient fuel to reach Knoxville. A short time later, he was north of Marietta, Georgia, and had exhausted all of his fuel in the right main tank, and he estimated he had 25 minutes of fuel remaining in the left main fuel tank. A cross check of the pilot's hand held GSP showed that the flight was 10 minutes from Cobb County McCollum Airport Marietta, Georgia.
About 3 1/2 miles north of Cobb County McCollum Airport, the pilot informed the tower controller that the airplane was out of fuel. The pilot established the best glide airspeed and looked for a forced landing site. The pilot selected a clear area and continued the glide for an emergency landing. The airplane collided with transmission power lines and became entangled with the lines, and was suspended inverted about 200 feet above the ground. The pilot radioed his situation to the control tower and provided the coordinates of his location. When emergency personnel arrived, the pilot and passenger were extracted from the airplane.
The pilot stated the airplane did not have a mechanical malfunction, but he simply ran out of fuel. The aircraft maintenance log books were not recovered for examination.
The pilot's improper in-flight planning/decision resulting in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion,which resulted in a forced landing, and subsequent in-flight collision with transmission wires.