Piper PA28 N1715J accident near Presidio, Texas

Probable cause

The student pilot’s loss of control at low altitude during a forced landing, which resulted in impact with terrain and substantial damage to the right wing. A contributing factor in the accident was the loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

NTSB analysis

Prior to departure, the airplane was fueled with 50 gallons of fuel, which the pilot estimated would last for 5 hours of flight time. He planned for a 3 hour and 40-minute flight.

When the airplane was about 55 miles from the destination airport, the engine began to sputter. According to the pilot, the right fuel tank was selected, so he switched to the left fuel tank position. The engine ran without any further issues until the left fuel tank ran out of fuel. The pilot performed a forced landing to a dirt landing strip without incident. After landing, the pilot examined the airplane and determined the right fuel tank was empty and the left tank had over 15 gallons of fuel. He started the engine and decided to continue the flight to Presidio, Texas. As the airplane reached about 5,500 ft after takeoff, the engine began to lose partial power. When the airplane was about 6 miles from the destination airport, the engine lost total power. The pilot attempted to land in a dry riverbed; however, the airplane stalled about 20 ft above the ground and the landing gear struck terrain damaging the outboard section of the right wing.

A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the fuel tanks were intact; the left fuel tank was empty, and the right fuel tank contained approximately 15 gallons of fuel. Because the student pilot’s recollection of the available fuel after the first forced landing differs from what was found after the accident, the investigation could not determine the reason for the loss of engine power.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR19LA027 for the full record.