Investigation Finds Operator Error was Cause of 2022 Plane Crash at Reid-Hillview Airport
Extensive National Transportation Safety Board review concluded that plane had fuel available, but pilot used depleted tank
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. – A recently released National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) final report on a July 2022 single-engine plane crash at Reid-Hillview Airport in San José found that pilot error caused the plane to lose power shortly after takeoff due to “inadequate preflight inspection and fuel management.”
The Piper had 15 gallons of fuel available in one of two tanks; however, the pilot was using a tank that had been depleted while the aircraft underwent its annual inspection at the airport. The NTSB concluded that the pilot’s errors ultimately “resulted in fuel starvation, a total loss of engine power, and an impact with terrain.”
The 42-year-old pilot sustained severe injuries in the crash. He was flying alone and nobody on the ground was injured when the plane came down on Ocala Avenue next to the airport after losing power. He had planned to fly about 5 miles to Norman Mineta San José International Airport, where the aircraft is based.
The NTSB report stated that, while Reid-Hillview does not sell the 100LL leaded aviation fuel used by the Piper, “it is unlikely that this would have influenced the pilot’s decision as he believed he had sufficient fuel to complete the flight.”
Reid-Hillview Airport and San Martin Airport are the only general aviation airports in the country to transition to the exclusive sale of unleaded avgas. Both airports now exclusively carry 94-octane unleaded avgas and jet fuel and expect to be among the first in the nation to sell 100-octane unleaded avgas when it becomes available in the near future. Despite the unavailability of leaded avgas for sale at the airports since January 2022, the number of general aviation operations and aircraft based at the airports have remained constant. The County is unaware of any safety incidents caused by the unavailability of leaded avgas for purchase since the transition.
“This final accident report confirms what we believed to be true at the time of the incident — that the decision to go lead-free at County airports did not cause the crash,” said County Executive James R. Williams. “There’s no safe level of lead exposure, and eliminating the sale of leaded fuel helps protect the community while encouraging other airports to move toward a lead-free future.”
The County of Santa Clara made the decision to sell only unleaded avgas at County airports effective January 2022 after a County-commissioned study found higher levels of lead in thousands of children living in the area around Reid-Hillview in East San José.
Leaded avgas is the last transportation fuel in use that contains lead -- leaded gasoline in automobiles was banned nearly 25 years ago. The EPA issued an endangerment finding about the fuel’s contribution to air pollution last October, determining that it is the main source of lead emissions.
The endangerment finding includes numerous references to a peer-reviewed County-commissioned study – published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nexus – that found elevated levels of lead in children living near Reid-Hillview Airport. This led to the County actions to prevent continued lead exposure, including the transition to unleaded gas at County airports as well as leading a national effort to eliminate leaded aviation fuel across the United States.
María Leticia Gómez / Eric Kurhi, Office of Communications and Public Affairs
408-299-5119, [email protected]