NTSB Factual Report

On January 13, 2018, about 1130 central standard time, a Piper PA 28-236 airplane, N4345K, impacted terrain during a forced landing following an inflight loss of engine power near Tishomingo, Oklahoma. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane sustained substantial fuselage damage. The airplane was registered to Piper-Dakota LLC and operated by the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the area about the time of the accident, and the flight was operated not operated on a flight plan. The flight originated about 1000 from the Memorial Field Airport (HOT), near Hot Springs, Arkansas, and was destined for the Ardmore Downtown Executive Airport, near Ardmore, Oklahoma.

According to the pilot, he departed from HOT with about 35 to 40 gallons of fuel between the left and right fuel tanks. The pilot estimated that the flight would require 20 gallons of fuel. As he was nearing the destination the pilot was concerned about the fuel level in the left tank as it indicated between 1/4 full and empty. There was also no fuel remaining in the right tank as he intentionally ran it dry. The pilot elected to divert to the Tishomingo Airpark (0F9), near Tishomingo, Oklahoma, to ensure the airplane had adequate fuel to complete the flight to Ardmore. The pilot said that upon landing he found out that there was no fuel at 0F9 and that it had not had any fuel for many months. An airpark attendant advised that there was no place nearby to obtain fuel and that the pilot should try the next available airport. The pilot subsequently took off from 0F9. When the airplane reached an altitude of about 1,500 ft above ground level, the engine "sputtered" as if out of fuel. The pilot immediately turned back to the airport. However, the airplane was at an altitude where it could not clear the trees in area. The airplane impacted the trees and subsequently impacted terrain inverted.

The pilot did not indicate in his accident report that he visually checked the fuel level before departing 0F9. However, he stated that the "left tank apparently goes empty somewhere prior to the "E" on the fuel gauge" and that the gauges were inaccurate. Federal Aviation Regulation Part 23.1337, Powerplant Instruments Installation, in part stated, "Each fuel quantity indicator must be calibrated to read ''zero'' during level flight when the quantity of fuel remaining in the tank is equal to the unusable fuel supply."

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot’s inadequate preflight fuel planning and in-flight fuel monitoring and his decision to take off with an unverified amount of fuel, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent impact with trees during an attempted forced landing.