Accident Overview
On October 23, 2013, at about 1040 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-23-150 Apache D, registration N3162P, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain following a loss of aircraft control during takeoff from runway 11R at Tucson International Airport, Tucson, Arizona. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was seriously injured. The airplane was operated under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal local flight in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was filed.
Pilot Experience and Flight History
The pilot purchased the airplane on February 22, 2013, after a mechanic performed an annual inspection in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Lacking a multi-engine rating, he had a flight instructor accompany him on the ferry flight from New Smyrna Beach to Tucson. He did not fly the airplane again until the accident day.
Sequence of Events
The pilot reported to an FAA inspector that shortly after liftoff, crosswinds pushed the airplane left. The airplane lost altitude and rolled left, impacting terrain with wings near 90 degrees of bank. It cartwheeled before coming to rest upright. The nose, both wings, and empennage were bent and wrinkled. In a written statement, the pilot said the nose turned left after takeoff, which he misinterpreted as wind effect. He later realized the uncontrollable left turn was due to the left engine losing power.
A witness, an airport operations officer, observed the takeoff and heard one engine misfiring. The airplane drifted left, rolled into a steep left bank, and struck the ground.
Postaccident Examination
Examination by an FAA inspector found both propeller controls full forward, mixture controls full rich, and throttles full aft—later determined that airport firefighters had moved throttles from full forward to full aft. Both fuel selectors were in the off position (also moved by firefighters). Landing gear was down, flaps up, both electric fuel pump switches off. No fuel was found in the left fuel strainer and carburetor; the right side contained fuel. Fuel from both wing tanks was clear and bright, uncontaminated.
On November 27, 2013, an NTSB investigator examined the left engine's fuel system. All fuel lines were intact and tight, free of obstructions. The fuel selector, valves, and screens were unobstructed. The left electric fuel pump operated normally. However, disassembly of the left engine-driven fuel pump revealed a brittle, cracked rubber diaphragm in several locations.
Checklists and Procedures
The Apache Owner's Handbook listed "electric fuel pumps on" in the before-takeoff checklist. A placard on the instrument panel also included this step. The handbook's emergency procedure for engine failure specified correcting yaw with rudder, feathering the dead engine's propeller, and holding the dead engine wing about 3 degrees higher to counter turning tendency.