 |
37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
The pilot of a piper PA32 made an off-field landing following loss of engine power. It was later determined that the fuel system was feeding from an empty fuel tank.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1246869 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201503 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | 1T8.Airport |
| State Reference | TX |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-32 Cherokee Six/Lance/Saratoga/6X |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | Direct Visual Approach |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Engine |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Engineer Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 125.5 Flight Crew Total 13500 Flight Crew Type 20 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue |
Narrative:
During cruise flight at 2;200 MSL I experienced an engine failure resulting in a forced landing on a golf course. No injuries occurred with damage to the nose gear and a resultant prop strike with engine wind milling. Initial investigation determined that the fuel selector was in the left tip tank position (17Gal) and the left tip tank was empty. I agree with this finding. During my preflight my intention was to burn out of the left main tank (25Gal); but I misidentified which tank was selected resulting in fuel starvation leading to the forced landing.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: The pilot of a Piper PA32 made an off-field landing following loss of engine power. It was later determined that the fuel system was feeding from an empty fuel tank.
Narrative: During cruise flight at 2;200 MSL I experienced an engine failure resulting in a forced landing on a golf course. No injuries occurred with damage to the nose gear and a resultant prop strike with engine wind milling. Initial investigation determined that the fuel selector was in the left tip tank position (17Gal) and the left tip tank was empty. I agree with this finding. During my preflight my intention was to burn out of the left main tank (25Gal); but I misidentified which tank was selected resulting in fuel starvation leading to the forced landing.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.