Flight History
On November 10, 2020, about 1540 Pacific standard time, a Piper PA-38-112, N6380A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Grass Valley, California. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data from the Federal Aviation Administration showed that the pilot departed Cameron Park Airport (O61), Cameron Park, California, and arrived at University Airport (EDU), Davis, California, about 1100, where he purchased 12 gallons of 100 low-lead aviation fuel. He then flew to an area east of the airport, performed numerous maneuvers, proceeded to Yolo County Airport (DWA), Davis, California, and returned to EDU about 1200. He departed EDU about 1419 and completed a touch-and-go landing at Oroville Municipal Airport (OVE), Oroville, California. The pilot then proceeded southeast at a cruise altitude of 5,500 ft mean sea level. At 1533:49, the airplane passed Nevada County Airport (GOO), Grass Valley, California, about 2 minutes before completing a slight right turn to a southerly heading. About this time, the pilot reported a loss of engine power to air traffic control. The pilot conducted a 180° right turn to the north as the airplane descended, followed by a 180° left turn about 2 minutes later, at which point the ADS-B track data ended at 1539:22, approximately 0.3 nautical mile west of the accident site. A witness located about 0.1 nautical mile southeast of the final ADS-B data point and 0.3 nautical mile southwest of the accident site reported seeing the airplane fly over him in a steep, controlled, left turn. He could not hear the engine and noted the airplane sounded like a glider. The airplane then rolled into a level attitude on a northeasterly heading as it flew past the witness in a steady descent and disappeared behind trees. The witness heard the airplane impact the ground about 4 seconds later.
Pilot Information
The pilot’s father reported that the pilot had accumulated about 50 hours in a Diamond DA-20 and 80 hours in a T-6 Texan during United States Navy pilot training. The pilot obtained an instrument rating and commercial pilot certificate at a flight school in San Diego, California, then relocated to northern California about 8 months before the accident. He began accumulating time in the accident airplane, owned by his neighbor, with the goal of accruing 500 flight hours to transition into air charter operations. He also completed a multiengine rating and began flying with a friend in two different twin-engine airplanes. The pilot’s logbooks showed that he started flying the accident airplane on October 1, 2020.
Aircraft Information
The airplane owner stated that he agreed to loan his airplane to the accident pilot, who would pay for routine maintenance and fuel. The owner flew with the accident pilot for about 12 hours to fulfill insurance requirements, completed about 1 month before the accident. The owner estimated that the pilot flew the airplane for about 20 hours after they stopped flying together. According to the owner, he instructed the pilot not to run either fuel tank under 3 gallons and to assume a fuel burn of about 6 gallons per hour. The owner also advised the pilot to operate one fuel tank as his “margin” and the other as the main tank and to ensure that the fuel tank with the lower quantity was on the pilot’s side when flying alone to “maintain balance.” The owner added that he last flew the airplane on November 7 and recalled that, at the end of that flight, the right-wing tank contained about 6 to 7 gallons and the left-wing tank contained about 3 to 4 gallons of fuel. The owner stated that he advised the pilot to consider switching tanks a couple of times during previous flights. The investigation found that the airplane was subsequently refueled with 25 gallons on November 9 and 12 gallons on the day of the accident.
Wreckage and Impact
The wreckage was in wooded terrain at an elevation of about 2,710 ft mean sea level. All major sections of the airplane were accounted for. The initial impact point was marked by a severed tree that displayed an impact mark about 15 ft from its base. The airplane came to rest 26 ft east of the initial impact point and was inverted and intact, oriented on a northwest heading. Both propeller blades remained attached to the engine crankshaft and were each bent slightly toward their blade faces; they did not exhibit any nicks, gouges, or chordwise scratching. The fuel selector was found in the LEFT tank position. An odor resembling 100 low-lead aviation fuel was observed below the right wing; no odor was observed below the left wing. No fuel drained from the left tank when the fuel cap was removed. About 5 gallons of fuel was drained from the right wing during recovery, with some evidence of fuel spillage. Flight control continuity was traced from the cockpit to the aileron, elevator, and rudder control surfaces. The elevator trim wheel cable was wrapped twice around the trim wheel drum, consistent with partial nose-up trim according to the manufacturer. The flap handle was in a position consistent with fully extended flaps. Both fuel tanks and fuel system lines showed no indication of preimpact anomalies. The fuel selector functioned normally throughout its LEFT, RIGHT, and OFF positions, and the auxiliary fuel pump motor could be heard when connected to a battery. Water contamination was observed in the gascolator bowl; however, the left-wing fuel cap had been removed while the airplane was in storage for several months following recovery, and the wing had been subjected to frequent rain. Mechanical continuity was established throughout the rotating group, valve train, and accessory section as the crankshaft was manually rotated. The magnetos produced spark at all four plug leads, and most spark plugs displayed signatures consistent with normal wear, except for three spark plugs that had some evidence of oil. Examination of interior components with a lighted borescope revealed no indications of catastrophic engine failure.
Fuel System Information
The airplane was equipped with two fuel tanks, one in each wing. Fuel was directed through a fuel selector located in the center of the engine control quadrant, with fuel quantity indicators for each tank on either side of the selector. The fuel selector had a knob to select RIGHT, LEFT, and OFF positions. Fuel was drawn by an electric fuel pump downstream of the selector, then directed to an engine-driven fuel pump and to the carburetor. The owner stated that the fuel quantity indicators provided an accurate representation of the fuel level; the indicators were not tested.
Fuel computations based on the owner’s observation 3 days before the accident and ADS-B data for subsequent flights, assuming a cruise fuel consumption of 5 gallons per hour (excluding climbs and descents), indicated that the airplane would have had about 1.13 gallons remaining in the left tank at the time of power loss if the left tank was selected and no tank switching occurred on the final 80-minute leg. Using the owner’s suggested 6 gallons per hour, the left tank would have had less than 0.5 gallon remaining, and the right tank about 9 gallons. According to the pilot operating handbook, the airplane had a total fuel capacity of 32 gallons, with 2 gallons (1 gallon per wing) considered unusable.
Photographs taken after the airplane was recovered showed the mixture full rich, fuel boost pump ON, and carburetor heat between its ON and OFF positions.