ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 44735
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| Date: | Friday 20 August 2004 |
| Time: | 13:34 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31P Pressurized Navajo |
| Owner/operator: | Bill Law Aviation |
| Registration: | N57EF |
| MSN: | 31P-7400215 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1974 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3516 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming TGIO-54PEIA |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | ca 5 mi N of Ledgedale Airport, Clarkson, NY -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Batavia, NY (GVQ) |
| Rochester, NY (ROC) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The airplane departed from a maintenance facility, after installation of the right engine, with an unknown quantity of fuel. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot reported that he had "lost" an engine. He requested vectors for the departure airport, then amended his request to an alternate destination. From the original distress call to the last recorded radar target, approximately 2 ½ minutes, the airplane descended from 2,500 feet to 700 feet and slowed from 190 knots to about 87 knots. Several witnesses described the engine sound as "rough", and "cutting in and out" before the airplane descended out of view and sounds of impact were heard. The left wing was consumed by post-crash fire. Forty gallons of fuel were drained from the right inboard and nacelle tanks. Only trace amounts of fuel were visible in the right outboard tank. Both fuel selectors were found in the outboard tank position. Examination of flight times and ground-maintenance run times revealed that the engines were run for approximately 3 hours with the outboard tanks selected. The outboard tanks each held 40 gallons, for a total of 80 gallons. According to the pilot's operating manual, the fuel consumption rate at the maximum endurance power setting was 28 gallons per hour.
Probable Cause: The pilot's mismanagement of the fuel by his failure to select the proper fuel tank which resulted in starvation and subsequent loss of engine power in both engines.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20040827X01298&key=1
FAA register: 2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=57EF
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Oct-2008 00:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 10-May-2013 13:29 | harro | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 30-Jun-2015 23:40 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 19-Oct-2017 01:40 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 07-Dec-2017 18:17 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 14-Mar-2021 19:51 | TB | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |
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