What happened
During a local training session focused on practicing takeoffs and landings, the flight experienced a sudden loss of power shortly after departing the runway. The certified flight instructor (CFI) and the student pilot immediately initiated an emergency landing procedure. During the attempt to execute a forced landing, the aircraft sustained substantial damage upon impact with the ground.
The investigation
Post-accident examination of the aircraft revealed that the fuel selector valve was positioned on an empty fuel tank. This mechanical configuration prevented fuel from reaching the engine, resulting in fuel starvation and subsequent engine failure. The CFI confirmed that the mispositioned selector valve was the direct cause of the power loss.
Findings
The primary contributing factor to this accident was the fuel exhaustion caused by the aircraft's fuel selector valve being set to an empty tank. This error occurred during a critical phase of flight, leaving insufficient time or altitude to recover. The incident highlights the importance of pre-flight and in-flight fuel management checks, particularly during training operations where attention may be divided between maneuvering and systems monitoring.
Safety message
Pilots must verify that the fuel selector valve is correctly positioned on a tank with available fuel before every takeoff. During flight, regular cross-checks of fuel quantity and selector position are essential to prevent fuel starvation accidents, especially during high-workload phases such as practice maneuvers.