An inexperienced PA38 flight instructor opted to delay reporting a malfunctioning fuel sump drain di...

Attributes
ACN	935599
Time
Date	201103
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-38 Tomahawk
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Flight Plan	None
Component
Aircraft Component	Air Conditioning and Pressurization Pack
Person 1
Function	Instructor Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 23 Flight Crew Total 230 Flight Crew Type 20
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue

Narrative:

Engine acted as it was about to shutdown shortly after takeoff. Told ATC that I needed to land immediately and landed on the closest runway.it appears fuel was leaking from the nose fuel sump. During preflight; we noticed we could not get fuel to drain from the nose sump; but the wings drained without problem. I decided to report the sump upon return into the airport.when we shut down the engine on the ramp; fuel began to pour from the sump. It appears it was in the drain position; however; during preflight; there was no leaking of any sort noticed from the sump. I did not see any noticeable trail of fuel from where we taxied either.I thought perhaps the tank had run out of fuel on takeoff; but the engine did not shut down completely the entire time; just sounded as if it might. The fuel gauges indicated that we still had fuel in the tanks even after landing. During engine start; run up; takeoff roll; and after the landing; the engine gauges were normal.learning from this; I will no longer fly an aircraft if I can't get the sump to drain properly or just wait for it to be corrected afterwards. I will also be more vigilant about fuel total with the tomahawk.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An inexperienced PA38 Flight Instructor opted to delay reporting a malfunctioning fuel sump drain discovered on the walkaround until after the training flight. Following the subsequent emergency landing due to a failing engine he noted fuel was draining unimpeded out of the suspect sump drain.

Narrative: Engine acted as it was about to shutdown shortly after takeoff. Told ATC that I needed to land immediately and landed on the closest runway.It appears fuel was leaking from the nose fuel sump. During preflight; we noticed we could not get fuel to drain from the nose sump; but the wings drained without problem. I decided to report the sump upon return into the airport.When we shut down the engine on the ramp; fuel began to pour from the sump. It appears it was in the drain position; however; during preflight; there was no leaking of any sort noticed from the sump. I did not see any noticeable trail of fuel from where we taxied either.I thought perhaps the tank had run out of fuel on takeoff; but the engine did not shut down completely the entire time; just sounded as if it might. The fuel gauges indicated that we still had fuel in the tanks even after landing. During engine start; run up; takeoff roll; and after the landing; the engine gauges were normal.Learning from this; I will no longer fly an aircraft if I can't get the sump to drain properly or just wait for it to be corrected afterwards. I will also be more vigilant about fuel total with the Tomahawk.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

An inexperienced PA38 flight instructor opted to delay reporting a malfunctioning fuel sump drain discovered on the walkaround until after the training flight. Following the subsequent emergency landing due to a failing engine he noted fuel was draining unimpeded out of the suspect sump drain.