NTSB Identification: ERA13CA362
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, August 12, 2013 in Fredericksburg, VA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 09/12/2013
Aircraft: PIPER PA-28R-180, registration: N4969J
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
According to the pilot, he initiated the first leg of a three-leg cross country flight at night without obtaining a weather briefing, nor did he obtain a briefing at either intermediate stop. Approaching his destination, he checked the weather and was informed that it included one-quarter mile visibility, 200 vertical feet visibility, and the runway was closed. He decided to wait and hold for the runway to open, which was about 30 to 40 minutes, and attempted an ILS approach. He performed the approach but executed a missed approach due to the low visibility conditions. After conferring with air traffic control, he elected to divert, but exhausted his fuel supply prior to performing an approach at the diversion airport. He executed a forced landing in instrument meteorological conditions. The airplane touched down in a grassy area and collided with a curb adjacent to the parking lot of a gas station. An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration examined the airplane and confirmed that the fuel supply was exhausted and substantial damage was confirmed to the wings and fuselage. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. He also reported that he may have been fatigued since he elected to fly all night after working the previous day.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot’s inadequate pre-flight and in-flight planning and his failure to obtain a weather briefing at his intermediate stops, resulting in a missed approach at his destination and subsequent fuel exhaustion. The pilot’s fatigue due to lack of sleep may have been a factor.
Many of us just can’t pass a WaWa without making a quick stop. But even so, it was surprising when a Piper PA-28R-180 Cherokee Arrow landed in the parking lot of a WaWa just north of the Shannon Airport in Spotsvylvania County about 5:43 a.m. today.
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (WUSA9) -- A plane landed in the parking lot of a Wawa store near Shannon Airport on Monday morning, confirms the manager of the airport, Robert Stanley.
According to Stanley, the plane was low on fuel and the pilot tried to land at the nearest two airports. Stanley says the pilot tried airports in Charlottesville and Louisa, but fog -- with 1/4 mile visibility -- kept him from landing there.
Virginia State police say the 1968 single-engine, fixed-wing Piper was headed from Tampa, Fla. to Charlottesville but was diverted due to weather. State police say the pilot, 33-year-old Jerome M. Orlando of Broadway, Va. was first directed to Stafford Regional Airport. Due to the fuel level he was then diverted to Shannon Airport in Spotsylvania County, but Orlando was forced to make an emergency landing in the parking lot in the 3400 block of Shannon Park Drive, say police.
The plane then landed in the parking lot of the Wawa, its nose wheel folding back when it hit a curb shortly before 6 a.m., says Stanley. Virginia State Police say a mailbox and a parking sign were the only property damaged on the ground.
Stanley says the pilot was not injured. No other injuries were reported, says Stanley.
There is no estimated time for removing the plane.
The FAA has been notified about the incident and state police are investigating, according to Stanley.
It is still unclear if any charges will be filed.
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