ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 157364
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| Date: | Friday 10 December 1999 |
| Time: | 19:00 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain |
| Owner/operator: | Union Flights Inc |
| Registration: | N27181 |
| MSN: | 31-7752068 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1977 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 8659 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming L/TI0-540 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 4 miles SW of Scottsdale Airport, Scottsdale, Arizona -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Flagstaff, AZ (KFLG) |
| Phoenix, AZ (KPHX) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The airplane collided with a berm in a construction area after making an emergency landing. Following a flight of about 1.5 hours and after starting a descent, the pilot felt the left engine surge, and saw the left boost pump warning light flashing. The left engine continued to surge and the boost pump light remained fully illuminated. He chose not to feather the left propeller. He engaged both emergency fuel boost pumps and advanced the throttles and propellers for both engines. In this configuration the engines did not produce enough power to sustain flight. ATC identified two nearby airports for the pilot; one airport was 6 miles away and the other was 2 miles away. At 4,000 feet agl, the pilot felt he would not make either airport. According to the manufacturer's published emergency procedures, once an inoperative engine has been identified and an unsuccessful engine restart attempt is made, the pilot should feather the propeller. During the recovery, personnel noted that the inboard fuel tanks were full of fuel. Both outboard tanks were empty; however, fuel was found on the ground by one of the outboard fuel tanks. According to the operator, once a month the pilot's are encouraged to burn out the fuel in the outboard fuel tanks in VFR conditions. Following the accident, a functional check was conducted of the continuous duty fuel boost pumps and emergency fuel boost pumps. No discrepancies were noted. According to the pilot's operating handbook (POH), the continuous duty fuel boost pump warning lights will illuminate when pressure to the system drops below 3 PSI or the boost pumps have failed. Engagement of the emergency fuel boost pumps provides steady fuel pressure. The POH further reports that the fuel system has right and left fuel warning lights. The fuel flow warning lights illuminate to warn the pilot of an impending fuel flow interruption. These lights are located underneath the fuel boost pump warning lights. If the fuel level near the tank outlet drops to a point where a fuel flow interruption and power loss could occur, a sensing probe will illuminate its corresponding warning light. An inspection of the fuel system revealed that the system was intact and operated normally. The cross feed valves were operated and fuel was observed to flow to each engine from the opposite side wing fuel tank. No mechanical anomalies were noted.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to follow the manufacturer's published emergency procedures for engine loss of power resulting in a forced landing in an open construction area where the airplane collided with a berm. A related factor was the loss of engine power in the left engine due to fuel starvation.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB LAX00LA043
FAA register: FAA register: 2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=27181
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Jun-2013 13:34 | JINX | Added |
| 25-Jun-2015 21:08 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 25-Jun-2015 21:11 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 16-Oct-2017 14:17 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 14-Dec-2017 10:00 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 29-Oct-2019 17:27 | Uli Elch | Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative] |
| 07-Apr-2024 16:25 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
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