# Incident 19970206005069I: Piper PA23250, Montrose, CO, February 6, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 6, 1997, 10:00 local time
- Place: Montrose, CO
- Airport: Montrose County
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.5098° N, 107.8942° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at MONTROSE RGNL (MTJ), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.5098&lon=-107.8942&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6291Y, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6291Y-2025-02-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-23-250 (registry code 7102308, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-23-250) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA23250
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,400 total, 200 in this make and model, 15 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970206005069I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: PILOT DEPARTED OGD DESTINED FOR MTJ UNDER IFR FLIGHT PLAN. AFTER ABOUT 1:45 MINUTES AND APPROACHING MONTROSE, CO (MTJ) BOTH ENGINES BEGAN RUNNING VERY ROUGH AND LOST POWER. PILOT SWITCHED TANKS IN EVERY POSSIBLE COMBINATION. WITH NO RESTORATION OF POWER. BOTH ENGINES EVENTUALLY LOST COMPLETE POWER, PILOT LANDED ON A COUNTRY ROAD, NO DAMAGE, NO INJURIES. PILOT DEPARTED OGD USING OUTBOARD TANKS, PROBELM DEVELOPED WHEN HE SWITCHED TO THE INBOARDS, HOWEVER, EVEN AFTER GOING BACK TO OUTBOARDS THE ENGINES CONTINUED TO DIE. PILOT IS AN IA/A&P HE FOUND SIGNIFICANT WATER CONTAMINATION IN THE FUEL SYSTEM. CLEANED SYSTEM IN THE FIELD AND FERRIED THE AIRCRAFT THE NEXT DAY TO MONTROSE, CO WITH NO PROBLEM. PILOT STATES HE FLEW THE PREVIOUS DAY ON BOTH INBOARD AND OUTBOARD TANKS FROM BOISE, ID TO OGD. AT OGD HE HAD THE INBOARDS TOPPED AND SUSPECTS THE VENDOR FUELED HIM WITH CONTAMINATED FUEL, VENDOR DENIES ANY PROBLEM WITH HIS FUEL SYSTEM. THE AIRCRAFT WAS PREVIOUSLY PARKED OUTSIDE BUT WAS HANGERED THAT EVENING IN OGD AFTER IT WAS FUELED. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE WATER IN THE FUEL WAS FROZEN DURING THE PREVIOUS FLIGHTS AND MELTED IN THE HEATED HANGAR AT OGD. THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED AND NO ACTION IS BEING PURSUED AGAINST THE PILOT. NO OTHER AIRCRAFT REFUELED AT OGD FBO REPORTED FUEL PROBLEMS.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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