Incident Overview
On 15 March 2007, a Piper PA-28-140 aircraft, registration ZS-DZH, was involved in an incident near the R26 road between Fouriesburg and Bethlehem, South Africa. The aircraft was being operated under a training flight and carried a pilot and one passenger. No injuries or fatalities were reported.
Flight Details
The pilot, a British citizen holding a valid Private Pilot licence, had departed from Virginia Aerodrome (Durban) on 14 March 2007 for a cross-country flight to Bethlehem, a distance of 174 nautical miles with an estimated flying time of 1 hour 55 minutes. En route, weather conditions deteriorated considerably, prompting a diversion to El Mirrador Private Aerodrome, where the flight landed after approximately three hours due to weather avoidance. The total fuel endurance at departure was about five hours.
The following morning, the pilot inquired about refueling at El Mirrador but was told no fuel was available. He recalculated fuel endurance for the remaining 51-minute flight to Bethlehem, estimating 1 hour 10 minutes of contingency fuel. Twenty minutes into the flight, strong headwinds of up to 55 knots significantly reduced groundspeed. The pilot recalculated the flight duration to approximately 1 hour 40 minutes under the prevailing conditions.
Precautionary Landing
Assessing the situation, the pilot decided to perform a precautionary landing to avoid depleting fuel resources. He identified a suitable open field next to the R26 road between Fouriesburg and Bethlehem. The landing was uneventful, and according to the pilot, some fuel remained in the tanks.
Post-Incident Actions
After landing, the necessary parties were informed, and fuel was brought from Bethlehem to refuel the aircraft. A commercial pilot subsequently flew the aircraft back to Bethlehem.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft had undergone its last Mandatory Periodic Inspection (MPI) on 17 February 2007 at 4419.7 airframe hours. By the time of the incident, an additional 60.2 hours had been accumulated. The Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO) that certified the MPI held a valid AMO Approval (No. 226) expiring on 10 December 2007. An audit of the AMO on 18 September 2006 identified four minor non-compliances, which were closed before approval issuance.