Piper PA-28 N57351 accident near Odessa, Florida

Probable cause

A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's inadequate planning and in-flight fuel management. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to follow proper procedures after the loss of engine power.

NTSB analysis

The pilot indicated that about 3 weeks before the accident flight, he had topped off the airplane's two fuel tanks and flown the airplane once; the flight lasted about 1 1/2 hours and was conducted using fuel from the left tank only.

During his preflight inspection before the accident flight, the pilot noted that the right tank was full and the left tank was "just under half." The pilot departed on the personal flight, which had a planned duration of 2 hours, and was again using fuel from the left tank only. After about 40 minutes to 1 hour of flight time, while the airplane was at an altitude of about 2,500 ft above mean sea level, the pilot reversed course to return to the departure airport; shortly thereafter, the engine lost total power. The pilot turned on the electric fuel pump and ran it for about 10 seconds before he switched to the right tank. The engine did not start, and the pilot switched back to the left tank. The pilot's attempts to restore engine power were unsuccessful, and he did not refer to the engine failure checklist in the cockpit. He chose to conduct a forced landing; the airplane landed in a field and was substantially damaged when the right wing struck a power line pole.

Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the left tank was empty, the right tank was full, and the fuel selector was set to the left tank. Each tank had a usable fuel capacity of 24 gallons, and performance information from the airplane manufacturer's pilot's operating manual indicated that it was possible for the airplane to burn 24 gallons of fuel in the 2 1/2 hours flown by the pilot since fueling. Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation, and the engine was successfully test run.

Because there was no evidence of an engine malfunction or failure and there was sufficient fuel on board, it is likely that the engine lost total power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's continued operation using the left fuel tank only.

The pilot's actions after the engine lost power likely contributed to his inability to restore engine power. The manufacturer's emergency procedures checklist cited switching fuel tanks before activating the electric fuel pump; however, the pilot activated the electric pump, ran it for about 10 seconds on the empty left tank, switched to the full right tank, and then switched back to the empty left tank. Although it could not be determined how long the pilot kept the fuel selector valve set to the right tank before he switched it back to the left tank, it is likely that there was insufficient time for the engine to restart once the fuel selector was switched to the right tank, particularly if he did not activate the electric fuel pump at that time.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR18LA040 for the full record.