The pilot started the day with 40 gallons of fuel onboard the Piper PA-32RT-30 Lance II and confirmed a pilot logbook entry for 1.3 flight hours on the day of the accident. That included flights from Taylor Municipal Airport (T74) in Texas to Austin Executive Airport (KEDC) and from KEDC to Lakeway Airpark (3R9).
The logbook did not include an entry for another flight from 3R9 to KEDC or the accident flight. After departing KEDC to fly to T74, the engine started running rough. He moved the fuel selector handle alternatively between the left and right fuel tank positions, turned on the fuel pump, and advanced the mixture to full rich, but the engine roughness continued.
The pilot tried to return to KEDC, but could not make it. He performed an off-field landing to a road near Pflugerville, Texas, where the airplane hit a parked car. The right wing separated from the fuselage during the crash and the airplane flipped upside down. The pilot sustained minor injuries in the crash.
When the plane was recovered at the accident site, nine gallons of fuel was found in the left wing.
The inboard right wing tank did not contain any fuel and the right fuel cap was secure on the wing when viewed at the accident scene by FAA inspectors. The right tank fuel lines were compromised where the wing separated from the fuselage during the accident, and the right outboard fuel tank was ruptured where leading edge impact damage occurred.
No evidence of fuel leakage from the right wing tanks was evident and no fuel was found in the right wing tanks by recovery personnel.
FAA inspectors documented the fuel selector handle in a position about 1 to 2 inches past center towards the right tank position.
According to the Pilot’s Operating Handbook for the airplane: “When the fuel selector handle is not in a positive selector detent position, more than one fuel port will be open at the same time. It should be ascertained the fuel selector is positioned in a detent, which can be easily felt when moving the handle through its various positions.”
Probable Cause: The pilot’s fuel mismanagement and his improper use and placement of the fuel selector, contrary to operating procedures, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
This January 2019 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
This problem is common to most low-wing aircraft that have to pull fuel from a tank with a pump. If a tank is empty and the fuel selector is positioned so as to open the valve to two tanks, one which has no fuel, the pump will draw air into the fuel line.
So, as was said by others, the selector has to be carefully positioned to only open the valve to a line with fuel in it.
It seems to me that if a float operated shutoff valve was in each tank, sort of like an upside down carb float, the empty [ no usable fuel ], tank could not allow air to be drawn into the fuel lines.
So, a partly positioned selector would still allow fuel to be drawn into the fuel lines.
This situation is why my preference is a high-wing aircraft, that uses gravity flow from both tanks to the carb ; no switching tanks and no fuel pump to fail,
and, I set my clock so that I know how many hours I’ve been flying, vs the fuel onboard.
I can’t understand why a pilot would go flying without knowing how long the fuel will last ?
The poh is accurate on fuel burn vs percent power.
It’s pretty simple math…. only a stupid pilot would try to fly after all the fuel is gone.
So, for the cost of a few gallons of fuel, he wrecks the aircraft.!
One bright spot with all these constant fuel mismanagement accidents is, if you make certain to have plenty of fuel and manage it properly the likelihood of an accident is apparently practically nil.
Getting the fuel selector wrong is a no-win no matter how much fuel you start with…ya just gotta make sure its all the way one side or the other.