Accident Overview
On August 20, 2010, at approximately 1530 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-22-150, registration N4850A, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain shortly after departing from Skyhaven Airport (76N) in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. The aircraft was operated under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a local instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The certificated flight instructor (CFI) and the private pilot/owner receiving instruction were uninjured.
Flight History
According to the CFI, the aircraft had departed with approximately 18 gallons of fuel on board. During the fourth takeoff of the session, when the airplane reached about 50 feet in the air just past the departure end of the runway, the engine lost power. The fuel valve had been selected to the right fuel tank for the takeoff. After the engine quit, the pilot moved the fuel selector to the left fuel tank, and the engine restarted; however, the airplane subsequently struck a tree, landed in a river, nosed over, and came to rest inverted.
Aircraft and Damage Examination
The airplane was a four-place, high-wing monoplane with fixed tricycle landing gear, constructed with a steel tube fuselage and an aluminum frame wing covered with fabric. It was equipped with two 18-gallon fuel tanks (one in each wing) and a Lycoming O-320-A2B 150-horsepower engine. According to the pilots, the aircraft had undergone an annual inspection in October 2009.
A mechanic who examined the aircraft after the accident noted no propeller damage other than a few scratches, a damaged air box, and damage to the left wing leading edge spar and associated ribs. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector later examined the airplane after its recovery from the river, finding a bent left wing spar, damaged nose gear, a buckled lower firewall, and bent engine mounts. Compression was confirmed on all engine cylinders by the thumb method, fuel was present in the carburetor, and the fuel screens were clear of debris. Flight control continuity was verified to all control surfaces from the control column. The pilots reported that the airplane had flown about two and one-half hours since its last fueling.
Placard and Fuel Consumption Information
The Piper PA-22 Type Certificate Data includes a note requiring a placard on the right fuel quantity gauge stating, "No take-off on right tank with less than 1/3 tank." In a phone interview, the CFI confirmed that the placard was installed on the accident airplane. The Lycoming O-320 series engine operator's manual indicates that fuel consumption could be as high as 14 gallons per hour.