What happened
On June 16, 2018, a Piper PA-28-140, registration N1782J, departed Hartford-Brainard Airport (HFD) in Hartford, Connecticut, for a personal flight under Part 91 regulations. Shortly after takeoff, while at approximately 900 feet above ground level, the engine began to sputter and experienced a loss of partial power, preventing the aircraft from maintaining altitude.
The pilot attempted to manage the situation by verifying the mixture was full rich, ensuring the carburetor heat was off, and switching fuel tanks. When the engine failed to respond, the pilot shut the engine off and performed a forward slip and S-turns to line up with a runway at a nearby closed airport. The aircraft landed approximately 600 feet from the departure end of the runway, subsequently overran the runway, and struck a fence. The pilot and passenger were not injured, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings.
The investigation
Investigators examined the aircraft and conducted an engine test run. While the pilot believed a recently replaced fuel selector valve had failed and caused fuel starvation, the on-site examination showed no fuel leaks and confirmed fuel was present in both wing tanks. The fuel drained from the tanks showed no signs of contamination.
The engine test run, performed using fuel recovered from the aircraft's tanks, showed no defects. The engine operated normally at full power on both the left and right fuel selector positions, as well as with both magnetos selected or individually. No hesitation or power loss was observed during the test.
Weather analysis indicated that at the time of the accident, the ambient temperature was 28°C with a dew point of 9°C. According to FAA guidelines for carburetor ice prevention, these conditions were conducive to serious carburetor icing at glide power.