Piper PA-28-180 Forced Landing on Beach Near Durban (ZS-PET)

Incident Overview and Flight Details On the morning of 4 September 2022, a Piper Aircraft Corporation PA-28-180, registration ZS-PET, was conducting a training flight under Part 141 of the Civil Aviation Regulations. The aircraft departed Port Alfred Aerodrome (FAPA) in the Eastern Cape at 0612Z, with Virginia Aerodrome (FAVG) in KwaZulu-Natal as the intended destination. The flight was piloted by a student pilot, who was the sole occupant. ## Engine Stoppage and Forced Landing During the flight, the student pilot reported that engine parameters were normal until the engine stopped a few minutes after requesting a descent to 1,500 feet. The pilot attempted an engine restart without success and subsequently executed a forced landing on a beach near the old Durban Aerodrome from an altitude of approximately 600 feet. The landing was successful, resulting in no injuries to the pilot and no damage to the aircraft. ## Post-Incident Actions and Recovery After landing, the pilot attempted to contact air traffic control on VHF 121.50 MHz but was unable to establish a connection. She then selected squawk code 7700 on the transponder, which alerted air traffic control and emergency rescue units. A helicopter conducting a pipeline inspection in the area was routed to the location and transported the pilot to FAVG. ## Aircraft and Maintenance Information The aircraft, serial number 28-7305163, was manufactured in 1973 and equipped with a Lycoming O-360-A4A engine. The last maintenance inspection was certified on 12 August 2022 at 13,909.0 airframe hours, with 27.0 additional hours flown before the incident. The Certificate of Airworthiness was valid until 30 September 2022. ## Investigation Findings and Probable Cause An aircraft maintenance organisation (AMO) team recovered the aircraft and conducted an inspection. They found no visual damage that could have caused the forced landing. Fuel checks revealed 4 litres of unusable fuel in the right tank and 40 litres in the left tank. A subsequent engine ground-run on 7 September 2022 showed no anomalies preventing normal operation. The investigation attributed the engine stoppage to fuel mismanagement, resulting in fuel starvation to the engine.