20 Sep 2010: PIPER PA32R 301HP — Saratoga Rental Options LLC

20 Sep 2010: PIPER PA32R 301HP — Saratoga Rental Options LLC

No fatalities • Chamblee, GA, United States

Probable cause

A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's improper placement of the fuel selector.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

According to the pilot, he completed his "descent checklist" and moved the fuel selector from the "Right" to the "Left" position. The airplane was 2 to 3 miles from the destination airport when the engine "began to quit" and then completely stopped producing power. The pilot adjusted to best glide airspeed and attempted "as many immediate action items [from] memory as I could." The pilot completed a forced landing to an interstate highway which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. Examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of pre-impact anomalies or fuel leakage, and about 35 gallons of fuel in each wing. The fuel selector was found in the "Off" position; however, it was not determined if it had been moved to that position in flight or subsequent to the flight. Recorded engine data revealed that about 1 minute prior to touchdown, the fuel flow rapidly dropped to almost zero, all exhaust gas temperatures went to zero, and all cylinder head temperatures began a gradual decline. Under the supervision of an FAA inspector, a club propeller was installed to replace the damaged propeller for a test run of the engine on the airframe, using the airplane's own fuel system. The engine started immediately, accelerated smoothly, and ran continuously without interruption when either the "Left" or "Right" positions were selected on the fuel selector. The engine stopped producing power approximately 1 minute after the fuel selector was placed in the "Off" position, which was located to the left of the "Left" position.

Contributing factors

  • cause Pilot
  • cause Fluid management

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 000/03kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.