On October 17, 2009, at 1913 central daylight time, a Piper PA-32-260, N3357W, was destroyed during a forced landing and post impact fire near Peoria, Illinois. The pilot executed the forced landing following a loss of engine power. The cross-country flight was being conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot was not injured. The flight departed Greater Peoria Regional Airport (PIA), Peoria, Illinois, about 8 minutes prior to the accident. The intended destination was DuPage Airport (DPA), West Chicago, Illinois.
The pilot was on a three leg cross country flight. The accident occurred shortly after takeoff on the final leg. The first and second legs from DPA to Quad City International Airport (MLI), Moline, Illinois, and from MLI to PIA were uneventful. The flight times for the first and second legs were reported as 55 minutes and 40 minutes, respectively.
Shortly after takeoff from PIA, while climbing through about 3,800 feet mean sea level (msl), the engine started running rough and then partially lost power. The pilot stated that he immediately applied carburetor heat, but it had no effect. He reported that he set the mixture control to rich, turned on the electric fuel pumps and switched fuel tanks. About 3,000 feet msl, the engine “went quiet.” His attempts to restore engine power were not successful, and he subsequently executed a forced landing onto a road about 7 miles north-northeast of PIA. The right main landing gear struck a traffic light during the approach, resulting in a hard landing. A post impact fire ensued. The pilot evacuated the airplane without injury.
A post accident examination of the engine did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a pre-impact failure or malfunction. Internal engine continuity was confirmed via crankshaft rotation. Compression was obtained at all cylinders. The magnetos and carburetor exhibited thermal damage consistent with the post impact fire. However, teardown examinations did not reveal any anomalies. The air intake appeared unobstructed. The throttle valve appeared intact and was in the full open position at the time of the exam. The spark plugs appeared intact and operational. The engine driven fuel pump was damaged and could not be operationally tested. The electric fuel pumps operated when electrical power was applied. The fuel selector valve was free to move between all four tanks. It appeared set to the right wing tip fuel tank at the time of the examination. Functional testing of the fuel selector did not reveal any anomalies.
The pilot stated that he departed DPA initially with full fuel and estimated that 65 gallons remained at the time of the accident takeoff. The pilot/operator report noted that fuel was being used from the right inboard tank shortly prior to the loss of engine power.
The airplane fuel system was comprised of 4 fuel tanks. The left and right main wing tanks (25 gallon capacity each), and the left and right wing tip tanks (17 gallon capacity each). The airplane manual noted that the fuel consumption at 75-percent power would be expected to be about 14.1 gallons per hour. The airplane flight manual stated that fuel in the main tanks should be used first, before the wing tip tanks.