ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 294153
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| Date: | Sunday 23 January 2005 |
| Time: | 16:06 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-25-235 |
| Owner/operator: | Great Western Soaring Co. |
| Registration: | N6745Z |
| MSN: | 25-2360 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1963 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-540-B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Llano, California -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Llano, CA (46CN) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Following a loss of engine power, the airplane collided with a sign, crushing the left wing, while the pilot was performing a forced landing on a road. After departing, with a glider in tow, the pilot entered a climb in an effort to reach an adequate altitude for the glider to release from the line. Upon reaching 1,000 feet above ground level (agl), the airplane's engine abruptly lost power. The glider released from the tow line and the pilot maneuvered the airplane towards a road. On the landing roll the left wing impacted a sign located on the side of the road, and the airplane ground looped. During a post-accident examination, investigators drained several ounces of fuel from gascolator, and the remaining fuel from the carburetor (less than a pint), noting no anomalies. The intact fuel tank contained no fuel and there was no evidence of in flight fuel leakage from the fuel strainer or tank. The engine started with no difficulties and preformed normally at several different power settings. The airplane had been flown 1.4 hours since the last refueling. According to the manufacturer, the engine consumes about 23 gallons of fuel per hour at maximum power of 2,575 revolutions per minute (rpm), and 19 gallons an hour at 2,500 rpm. The pilot thought that the airplane had an estimated 10 gallons of fuel on board prior to his last departure, but noted that the fuel gauge was unreliable. The accident flight lasted approximately 30 minutes, which would have resulted in the consumption of 9.5 gallons of fuel utilizing the 19-gallon/hour fuel consumption rate.
Probable Cause: the pilot's inadequate preflight planning and failure to verify the amount of fuel onboard the airplane prior to departure, which resulted in loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB LAX05LA075
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Oct-2022 17:58 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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