The pilot stated that the flight was to remain in the traffic pattern at the airport in Monee, Illinois. During the departure climb, the Piper PA-28’s engine lost power.
He told investigators he checked the position of the throttle, mixture, and the magnetos. He then made a 180º turn to return to the airport.
During the approach to the airport, he determined that the airplane was unable to make it back to the airport. He landed the airplane on a field, and the airplane sustained substantial damage on impact with terrain to the engine mount. The pilot sustained minor injuries.
Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the left tip fuel tank contained about 0.18 gallons of fuel, the left main fuel tank contained about 16 gallons of fuel, the right tip fuel tank contained no useable fuel, and the right main fuel tank contained about 6.5 gallons of fuel.
The airplane battery switch was turned on, and the fuel gauge indications were as follows:
- Left tip tank: 0 gallons,
- Left main tank: 5 gallons,
- Right tip tank: 0 gallons,
- Right main tank: 0 gallons.
The carburetor was disassembled, and the carburetor bowl contained about 0.4 inch of fuel. There was no fuel in the fuel line leading to the carburetor.
The pilot stated that he had the fuel selector on the left main fuel tank, but moved it to the OFF position after the accident.
Probable Cause: The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation for undetermined reasons during a departure climb that resulted in a forced landing and impact with terrain.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This March 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.
Don’t blame the fuel gages. The FAA only requires that they read empty when they are empty.
The first mistake was departing with only 5 gallons of fuel.
Read the article again. There was close to 20 gallons in the main tanks.
The gauges were not indicating accurately.
James Brian Potter, this aircraft was designed in the early 1960’s. Do your research. Pilot error.
The real problem here is the primitive Ford Model-T design which requires manual intervention to activate the booster pump. Should be electronically integrated with the manual pump’s output to kick-in automatically when manual pump failure is detected. Given the lofty costs of GA aircraft, expecting the pilot to substitute for a simple microprocessor function is just pathetic, for want of a better characterization. Why the GA community puts up with such malfeasance in product design eludes me. The road vehicle analogy would be to have a Model-T era manually operated spark advance lever adjacent to the turn signal lever in current cars. The public wouldn’t tolerate such primitive nonsense, but the GA community likely would. It eludes me.
Regards/J
Certified aircraft can only be modified by an STC or a form 337.
So, why don’t auto manufacturers update all the 1950s,1960s, and 1970s cars with ‘modern equipment…??
Cirrus now has an automatic fuel selector transfer system for their $1 million aircraft.!!
JBP,
Are you a pilot ?
Do you own an aircraft ?
Regardless of the above, please be more positive or constructive in making comments.
Complaining about what was done in the past is of no use to us today..!!
If you don’t like the way older certified aircraft are flying, develop some STCs to make your ‘fixes’.!!
I am a pilot and own an older Cessna, and I like the way it was certified , and is probably more reliable than any multiple micro-processor controlled aircraft of today.!
From the final report, the investigator selected the left tank and turned on the boost pump, which flowed a steady stream of fuel.
So, it appears that the mechanical fuel pump failed and the pilot did not activate the boost pump per the POH… and crashed the aircraft.!!!
The pilot reported substantial time in type, so no excuse for not using the boost pump on takeoff.!!