ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 289571
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| Date: | Friday 28 January 2011 |
| Time: | 14:00 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-24 |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | N8023P |
| MSN: | 24-3267 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1962 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 5149 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO540 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Huntsville, Texas -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Livingston Airp, TX (00R) |
| Huntsville Airport, TX (HTV/KUTS) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot requested that the airplane be 'topped off†with fuel before the flight. The person who refueled the airplane filled two of the four tanks with 9 gallons of fuel total, and the pilot said he visually checked that all four tanks were full during his preflight inspection. The pilot reported that after flying about 1 hour, the 'engine started surging due to a lack of fuel†and quit. He made several attempts to restart the engine 'by switching from all of the rest of [his] full tanks†but was unable to restart the engine and performed a forced landing to a dirt road. During the landing, the left main gear collapsed and the left wing spar sustained substantial damage. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed both main tanks were empty and the two auxiliary tanks were full. There was no evidence of any fuel leaks at the scene. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the airplane auxiliary tanks only being fueled and the pilot departing with insufficient fuel in the main tanks, resulting in an engine failure due to fuel starvation.
Probable Cause: The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection to ensure the main tanks were full, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB CEN11LA162
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Oct-2022 15:23 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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