ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 207039
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| Date: | Sunday 4 March 2018 |
| Time: | 13:30 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-32-260 |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N3756W |
| MSN: | 32-671 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1966 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3731 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-540 SERIES |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Clark County, north Washougal, WA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Salem, OR (SLE) |
| Camas, WA (1W1) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot reported that, before departure, he estimated that the right tip fuel tank was three-quarters full (about 14 gallons), and each main fuel tank had about 20 gallons of fuel.
The pilot reported that, during cruise, he decided to use the right tip fuel tank, even though he was aware that the right tip fuel tank gauge was inoperative. He added that, after about 25-30 minutes, he performed various stall maneuvers before returning to the departure airport to land. The pilot noticed a reduction in engine power and a drop in the manifold pressure and concluded that the airplane would not be able to return to the airport, so he continued a left turn toward a farm field. The pilot began to troubleshoot for carburetor ice to no avail. The airplane landed in the farm field and impacted a ditch.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mounts.
The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The pilot added that, during a postaccident examination, it was revealed that the right tip fuel tank was dry and “that the engine lost power due to fuel starvation.”
Probable Cause: The pilot’s inadequate inflight fuel management and his failure to switch to a fuel tank with adequate fuel, which resulted in fuel starvation.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
https://flightaware.com/resources/registration/N3756W
Location
Media:
Piper plane goes down in Washougal, Clark County, WA, USA.https://t.co/xTEOeng1BW pic.twitter.com/N45yfBJEfB
— Planes Of Legend (@PlanesOfLegend) 5 mars 2018
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Mar-2018 04:18 | Geno | Added |
| 05-Mar-2018 08:12 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Time, Source, Embed code] |
| 05-Mar-2018 23:49 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 13-Mar-2018 21:10 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
| 08-Jul-2018 13:15 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
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