Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA 32-301 near Los Angeles, CA — 2013-12-18

Final reportWPR14LA071
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Date
2013-12-18
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Airport
WHP
Aircraft
PIPER PA 32-301
Registration
N8169C
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

The total loss of engine power during takeoff due to fuel starvation, which resulted from the pilot’s failure to adequately manage the fuel supply.

NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that, during the preflight inspection, he noted that the fuel gauges located on the wing tanks indicated that each tank contained about 12 gallons of fuel. After performing a run-up inspection, he completed one takeoff and full-stop landing. After taking off again, the pilot turned the airplane onto the crosswind leg of the traffic pattern, and the engine subsequently experienced a total loss of power. As the airplane began to lose altitude, the pilot switched the fuel selector from the right fuel tank to the left fuel tank position. The pilot unsuccessfully attempted to restart the engine and then maneuvered the airplane to a field to perform an emergency landing. While landing, the airplane's landing gear dug into the soft terrain, and the nose landing gear collapsed, which resulted in damage to the firewall. Maintenance personnel reported that, before transporting the wreckage to a storage facility, they removed about 10 gallons of fuel from the left wing tank and about 1 quart of fuel from the right wing tank; the fuel system was not breached, and no evidence of fuel leakage was found. During the postaccident examination, the engine was successfully started and run for over 5 minutes at various power settings. No mechanical anomalies were noted with the engine or airframe that would have precluded normal operation.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Pilot did not use the fuel boost pump during engine restart attempt.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 2 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents2

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