Accident Details
On November 6, 2020, at 2045 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-140, registration N9993W, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing in a partially harvested corn field near Greenville, Michigan. The commercial pilot and two passengers were not injured. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
Flight Narrative
The pilot reported that during the night cross-country flight, he landed at two airports, performing two full-stop landings and one touch-and-go landing before returning to the departure airport. Prior to approaching the departure airport, he executed two steep turns and a power-off stall. He then performed a low pass over runway 18/36 to check for deer, followed by a straight-in approach for landing on runway 28. During a right turn for the approach, the engine lost power. An attempt to restart the engine was unsuccessful. The pilot stated he could still hear some engine noise and tried to pump the throttle, which produced a slight rise in engine speed. He did not check the tachometer or oil pressure gauge and did not check the magnetos due to low altitude, but observed that the magneto switch was on BOTH. He performed a forced landing in a partially harvested corn field. During the landing, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall, fuselage, left wing, and right wing.
Fuel Management and Postaccident Examination
The pilot stated he did not rely on fuel quantity gauges, believing they are only accurate when empty. Instead, he used paper calculations for fuel burn. He reported switching from the left fuel tank to the right at 1954, from right to left at 2025, and back to right before entering the traffic pattern to be on the fullest tank. Based on his calculations, he expected 7 gallons in each tank.
Postaccident examination revealed about 1 pint of 100 low lead (100LL) aviation fuel in the left fuel tank and about 12 gallons in the right tank. Both tanks were intact. The left fuel quantity transmitter was out of tolerance: reading 3 ohms high on FULL and 27 ohms high on EMPTY, with fluctuating readings indicating dead spots. The right transmitter was slightly out of tolerance, reading 0.5 ohm low on FULL. The fuel selector valve exhibited stiff rotation, worn detents, rotational scoring, discoloration, and contaminant buildup. The pilot indicated he visually verified the selector lever position due to the lack of perceptible detents. The carburetor bowl drain plug yielded approximately one tablespoon of blue liquid consistent with 100LL. The airframe fuel strainer bowl was found loose, not seated in the housing, with the safety wire intact and thumbwheel loose. The gascolator strainer contained no fuel.