Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA24 near Huntsville, TX — 2011-01-28

Final reportCEN11LA162
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Date
2011-01-28
Location
Huntsville, TX, USA
Airport
UTS
Aircraft
PIPER PA24
Registration
N8023P
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection to ensure the main tanks were full, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

NTSB narrative

The pilot requested that the airplane be “topped off” with fuel before the flight. The person who refueled the airplane filled two of the four tanks with 9 gallons of fuel total, and the pilot said he visually checked that all four tanks were full during his preflight inspection. The pilot reported that after flying about 1 hour, the “engine started surging due to a lack of fuel” and quit. He made several attempts to restart the engine “by switching from all of the rest of [his] full tanks” but was unable to restart the engine and performed a forced landing to a dirt road. During the landing, the left main gear collapsed and the left wing spar sustained substantial damage. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed both main tanks were empty and the two auxiliary tanks were full. There was no evidence of any fuel leaks at the scene. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the airplane auxiliary tanks only being fueled and the pilot departing with insufficient fuel in the main tanks, resulting in an engine failure due to fuel starvation.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Pilot should have confirmed all tanks were fueled before departure.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 9 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents9

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