Forced Landing of Piper PA-28-140 HK5178G Near Guaymaral Aerodrome

Incident Overview and Flight History On 12 February 2020, a Piper PA-28-140 with registration HK5178G was conducting a training flight near Guaymaral Aerodrome in Colombia. The aircraft was operated by ADEVIA Ltda. and carried two occupants: a pilot instructor and a student pilot. The flight began at 15:00 local time, and the crew performed five touch-and-go landings without incident. During the initial climb after the fifth takeoff from runway 29, the aircraft experienced a loss of engine power around 15:30 local time. ## Emergency Landing and Damage The instructor took control of the aircraft and attempted to recover, but the power loss could not be corrected. The crew selected an unprepared area adjacent to Guaymaral Aerodrome and made a controlled emergency landing. During the landing roll over irregular terrain, the aircraft struck three wooden fence posts: two with the left wing and one with the right wing. The aircraft sustained minor damage to the wing leading edges, with no damage to the main structural beams. The aircraft came to a stop without further significant damage. ## Occupants and Investigation Both occupants evacuated the aircraft under their own power and were uninjured. The accident investigation group was notified the same day and dispatched two investigators to the scene. The event was also reported to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board as the state of manufacture. ## Probable Cause The investigation determined that the loss of engine power was caused by a temporary interruption in fuel flow. This occurred when the crew switched the fuel selector from the right tank to the left tank, and the selector valve was positioned in an intermediate setting that momentarily cut off fuel supply to the engine.