According to the student pilot, he was on short final for landing on Runway 01 at his home airport at the conclusion of a solo flight when the tower controller instructed him to discontinue his approach, turn right, and enter the left downwind leg of the traffic pattern for Runway 28.
Once established on the downwind leg, he completed a right 360° turn as directed by the controller before he continued the downwind leg and turned left onto the base leg of the airport traffic pattern.
When approaching the turn onto the final approach leg of the traffic pattern, the Piper PA-28’s engine lost power.
According to the pilot, the engine “sputtered,” and the engine rpm “dropped, then came back up” before it reduced to 300 rpm.
Engine rpm was never restored, and the pilot chose to perform a forced landing in the Savannah River.
The airplane was recovered from the river under the supervision of an FAA inspector. The airplane’s left wing was substantially damaged.
The fuel selector was found in the right tank position. Twenty gallons of liquid were drained from the airplane’s fuel tanks of which “maybe 3 or 4 gallons” were fuel and the rest water.
According to the recovery specialist, “About 75% of that was from the left tank. There were about 5 gallons in the right tank, and maybe a gallon of that was fuel.”
When asked if the fuel tanks were breached, he replied, “No, when the diver went down there were no ‘rainbows’ going to the surface or any evidence of fuel leaking. There were no ‘rainbows’ on the surface either.”
According to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1961 and was equipped with two 25-gallon wing tanks of which 24 gallons in each tank were usable. The manufacturer’s Owner’s Handbook stated that the airplane’s fuel consumption rate at 75% power was 9 gallons per hour (gph). The consumption rate at cruise does not include fuel consumed during engine start, taxi, takeoff, and climb.
A review of company dispatch and fueling records revealed that, before the accident flight, the airplane had flown 4.1 hours since it was fueled to capacity. At the nominal cruise fuel consumption rate of 9 gph, the airplane would have consumed 27 gallons of fuel in 3 hours, and the amount of fuel remaining in the tanks would have been about 21 gallons.
An interview with the pilot’s flight instructor revealed that the normal convention was to refuel airplanes before departure based on the planned mission. The instructor estimated that the airplane was adequately fueled for the planned solo flight and that the fuel quantity on board was about 34 gallons.
Review of surveillance video revealed that the instructor visually inspected the fuel tanks while the student conducted his preflight inspection, but the student pilot did not. The instructor explained that the fuel quantity measuring device for the airplane was not used during the preflight inspection as “it was broken.”
The student pilot stated that he believes he departed on the left tank position, switched to the right tank position, and that the selector remained in that position throughout the remainder of the flight.
Review of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data revealed that the airplane climbed to traffic pattern and/or cruise flight altitude four times.
Examination of data downloaded from the airplane’s engine data monitor revealed fuel flow rates at or above 10 gph for about 21 minutes of the 1.1-hour flight.
Probable Cause: The student pilot’s improper fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
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This February 2022 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.
The most experienced pilots make mistakes and can be negligent! Another good reason to slow down, THINK, use your checklist, and most important, common sense!
I was transiting this area and in contact with SAV ATC and can only commend them for their help and communication with the pilot.