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| Date: | Thursday 16 January 2025 |
| Time: | 15:30 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-24-250 Comanche |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N6799P |
| MSN: | 24-1932 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Bentonville, AR -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Farmington Regional Airport, MO (FAM/KFAM) |
| Bentonville Municipal-Louise M Thaden Field, AR (KVBT) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
On January 16, 2025, about 1530 central standard time, a Piper PA-24 airplane, N6799P, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Bentonville, Arkansas. The left seat pilot sustained serious injuries, and the right seat pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 ferry flight.
According to the owner/co-pilot, who was in the right seat, he had just purchased the airplane, and the most recent annual inspection was overdue by about 5 months. He solicited the assistance of the left-seat pilot to help him with the prebuy inspection and to complete a 100- hr inspection before the ferry flight. He received a ferry permit from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and intended to complete the 3-leg ferry flight to an airport where he could get an annual inspection completed. The co-pilot’s father flew another airplane alongside the accident airplane and received visual flight rules (VFR) flight following services from air traffic control.
The pilot, who is also a certified airframe and powerplant mechanic, completed a 100-hr inspection and determined that the airplane was in a condition to safely complete the ferry flight. Before the first leg of the flight, the co-pilot topped off the fuel tanks with 29.26 gallons of 100 low lead aviation fuel, for a total of 60 gallons with 30 gallons in each fuel tank. After takeoff, they climbed to 4,500 ft mean sea level (msl) and circled above the airport to ensure the airplane was operating without issue and proceeded west at a cruise altitude of 4,500 ft msl. While enroute, the pilot noted that the Nos. 3 and 4 cylinder head temperatures were higher than expected so they did not lean the mixture. Since they did not lean the mixture and their fuel indicator showed a fuel consumption of about 20 gallons per hour (gph), they changed their first fuel stop to an airport closer than originally planned. After the 2-hour flight, they topped off the tanks by adding 20 gallons of fuel to each tank and confirmed that the fuel consumption was about 20 gph. During the second leg of the flight, their cruise altitude was about 6,500 ft msl, and the engine rpm was set about 200 rpm less than the first flight. After 50 to 60 minutes, the co-pilot switched to the right fuel tank, and they descended for landing. While in the traffic pattern, with the landing gear and flaps extended, the pilot adjusted the throttle, and the engine immediately lost power. He attempted to restart the engine several times, but the starter would not engage, and the propeller had stopped rotating. The co-pilot selected the left fuel tank, but the engine would not restart. The pilot executed a forced landing to a field and came to rest upright. During the landing, the landing gear collapsed, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing.
The responding FAA inspector examined the fuel tanks, which remained intact, and determined that the left tank was near empty, and the right tank contained about 27.5 gallons. The inspector removed a JPI Engine Data Monitor EDM-700 and a Shadin Fuel Flow Indicator for data extraction and analysis. The EDM-700 did not have recording capabilities, therefore, no data was extracted. The Shadin analysis is pending.
The airplane was retained for further examination.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2025/jan/16/plane-crashes-near-thaden-field-in-bentonville/
NTSB
Location
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Jan-2025 07:11 | gerard57 | Added |
| 17-Jan-2025 07:28 | ASN | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Destination airport, Source, ] |
| 17-Jan-2025 10:55 | AnimeBirder | Updated [Location, ] |
| 17-Jan-2025 11:06 | vasilf | Updated [Embed code, ] |
| 20-Feb-2025 19:37 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ] |
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