Accident Details
A student pilot and his certified flight instructor (CFI) were conducting an instructional flight from Barnstable Municipal Airport-Boardman/Polando Field (HYA) in Hyannis, Massachusetts. After approximately 40 minutes of flight, the student pilot radioed the HYA control tower with ATIS information foxtrot. He believed he switched the fuel tank selector from the left tank to the off position and then to the right tank. However, the fuel selector actually moves from left to right to off, not the way he thought. The student pilot then pulled the power back and continued his descent.
Pilot Statements
At about 400 feet, the student pilot attempted to add power but received no response from the engine. He informed the CFI that there was no power, they were losing altitude, and they would not make it to the HYA airfield. The CFI immediately took control of the airplane and turned to avoid trees and power lines. The CFI landed the airplane in a field adjacent to the airfield, and during the landing, the airplane collided with a pole. The student pilot later stated that he realized the fuel selector goes from "left to right to off," not the order he had believed. He added that he "was not fully knowledgeable of the equipment on the plane." The CFI reported that they had been cleared for a touch-and-go landing. At 400 feet, the student pilot informed him of the power loss, and he took control to perform the emergency landing.