History of the Flight
The private flight from Shoreham to Sheffield and return was uneventful until the approach to Shoreham. Cleared for an overhead join at 2,000 ft for Runway 21, the pilot began pre-landing checks and noted fuel gauges indicating half full left and quarter full right. Upon advancing propeller control levers to FULLY FINE, the aircraft yawed and rolled left, with left engine manifold pressure dropping to 15 inches. The pilot returned the left prop lever to cruise and the engine temporarily recovered. After reporting the issue to ATC, a wide circuit was cleared.
Shortly after, both prop levers were placed to FULLY FINE and the left engine failed completely. Attempting a restart using the electric starter produced no result; during this attempt, the right engine also failed. The pilot informed ATC of total power loss and was cleared for grass Runway 25. At about 900 ft, with both propellers windmilling and gear and flaps retracted, the pilot attempted further restarts using crossfeed and normal fuel selection, without success. At approximately 400 ft, the pilot aimed for a grass strip between a railway and houses, lowered the landing gear, and flared. The left wing struck a house roof, the right wing and tailplane hit a tree, and the aircraft slid into a rear garden. The pilot exited unassisted and later returned to switch off electrical systems. The elapsed time from the initial engine problem to impact was about 1 minute 15 seconds.
Examination Findings
The aircraft was destroyed. A roof timber penetrated the nose; the left wing was nearly detached; the right wing fuel tank was ruptured by a low concrete wall. Fuel seepage was noted from the right wing, but none from the left. Propeller blades showed low-speed rotation at impact and were in fine pitch, not feathered. Flaps were retracted; landing gear selector was down, with main gear locked down and nose gear in transit. Small amounts of fuel were drained from engine filters, yielding approximately 0.25 litres. Engine examination revealed no mechanical failures.
Fuel System Details
The Piper PA-34-220T has two wing tanks with a total capacity of 128 US gallons (5 unusable). Each wing has three fuel drains. The fuel selector valves are located between the pilot seats. After the accident, the selectors were found OFF, but had been moved by emergency services from the ON position. The left engine selector valve remained selected to the left tank; the right engine selector valve was OFF. No debris was found in the fuel filters.
Maintenance and Flight Planning
The aircraft had undergone a 50-hour check on 26 March 2001, including fuel injection adjustments and engine runs. It had flown about four hours since. The pilot planned the flight using a computer navigation aid assuming zero wind, a true airspeed of 154 kt, and fuel consumption of 25.5 US gallons per hour. The printout showed total flight time for the return leg but is not specified in the report.