ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 275958
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| Date: | Saturday 26 February 2022 |
| Time: | 12:43 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-28-150 Cherokee |
| Owner/operator: | Flycorps Aviation |
| Registration: | N5208W |
| MSN: | 28-244 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1961 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4030 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-320-A2B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Savannah River, GA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Statesboro Municipal Airport, GA (TBR/KTBR) |
| Savannah, GA | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The student pilot was conducting a solo flight and was on the base leg of the traffic pattern at the conclusion of the flight when the engine lost total power. The pilot determined that he could not reach the runway and chose a river for the forced landing, during which the airplane sustained substantial damage.
Examination of fueling and dispatch records revealed that at the time of the accident, the airplane had logged 4.1 hours of flight since it was most recently fueled to capacity, which would have provided about 5.3 hours of endurance in a nominal cruise flight configuration of 75% power with a fuel consumption rate of about 9 gallons per hour (gph). Interviews with the student pilot and his flight instructor, as well as a review of surveillance video of the preflight inspection, revealed that the student pilot did not visually inspect the fuel quantity. Although the instructor performed a visual inspection, the fuel quantity measuring device for the airplane “was broken' and was not used.
Recovery and examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel tanks were intact. The right fuel tank contained about 1 gallon of fuel, and the left fuel tank contained about 2 to 3 gallons of fuel. There was no evidence of fuel spillage in the water at the accident site. The fuel selector was found in the right tank position. There was no evidence found of mechanical deficiencies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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. Given the position of the fuel selector, the small amount of fuel found in the right tank, and the lack of mechanical anomalies, it is likely that the loss of engine power was the result of fuel starvation when the fuel supply in the right tank was exhausted.
Probable Cause: The student pilot's improper fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB ERA22LA144
FAA register: https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=5208W
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N5208W/history/20220226/1441Z/KSAV/L%2032.13309%20-81.12030
Location
Media:
Audio transmission from the MAYDAY call involving the downed aircraft in the #Savannah River. Audio from https://t.co/u1oQsdCE4P #Breaking pic.twitter.com/gypDXCGoO5
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) February 26, 2022
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Feb-2022 21:39 | Geno | Added |
| 27-Feb-2022 00:48 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage] |
| 27-Feb-2022 09:45 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Location, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 27-Feb-2022 14:43 | johnwg | Updated [Time, Embed code, Category] |
| 27-Feb-2022 15:32 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Narrative] |
| 02-Mar-2022 19:23 | johnwg | Updated [Time, Source] |
| 17-Mar-2022 07:08 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 17-Mar-2022 07:09 | Captain Adam | Updated [Departure airport] |
| 16-Nov-2023 15:48 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
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