ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 148771
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| Date: | Tuesday 4 September 2012 |
| Time: | 08:50 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-32-300 Cherokee Six |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N308DF |
| MSN: | 32-7840015 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2803 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-540-K1G5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | NW of General William J Fox Airfield - KWJF, Lancaster, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Lancaster, CA (WJF) |
| Agua Dulce, CA (L70) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The student pilot was flying solo back to her home airport after completing a lesson with a flight instructor. Before the flight instructor exited the airplane, the student pilot verified that the right main fuel tank was selected and full. However, as the airplane climbed through about 700 feet above ground level, the engine began to sputter. The student pilot checked the ignition switch and turned on the boost pump. She elected to land straight ahead in an empty field rather than try to turn back to the runway and made a soft field, power-off landing. During the landing roll, the right main landing gear began to sink into a furrow. The airplane’s nose gear collapsed, resulting in damage to the firewall. The student stated that the fuel selector valve had been problematic due to the lightness of the stop between the right main and the right wing tip positions. On previous occasions, she had noticed that it could be inadvertently moved from the right main to the tip, and had developed a method of planting her hand before selecting the right main so as to prevent the selector from moving through the stop to the right tip. After the accident, she verified that the fuel selector was in the right tip tank position, and that tank was empty.
Probable Cause: The student pilot’s inadvertent selection of an empty fuel tank.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Lancaster-Plane-Down-Fox-Field-168469986.html
http://theavtimes.com/2012/09/04/woman-lands-small-plane-in-lancaster-desert/
http://ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-lancaster-emergency-landing,0,6440325.story
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=308DF
https://www.faa.gov/data_research/accident_incident/preliminary_data/events02/media/03_308DF.txt
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Piper-PA-32-300-Cherokee/2091164/?sid=f5dee0bb1a3c2e2b9444bb66f2a362d0
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Sep-2012 13:33 | Geno | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 28-Nov-2017 13:26 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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