# Accident 19980322008019A: Piper PA31310, Southport, NC, March 22, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 22, 1998, 10:50 local time
- Place: Southport, NC
- Airport: Brunswick County Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.9202° N, 78.0199° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.9202&lon=-78.0199&mi=10
- Aircraft: N715PM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N715PM-1999-12-02) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-31-310 (registry code 7103102, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31-310) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA31310
- Reported engine: LYC TIO540A2A
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 955 total, 260 in this make and model, 13 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL98FA059](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98FA059) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980322008019A

## Narrative

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

YAWED RIGHT ON CLIMBOUT THEN ROLLED INTO TREES. INDICATES LOST ENGINE NOT VERIFIED.(.4) THE PILOT STATED HE CHECKED THE FUEL QUANTITY IN THE INBOARD FUEL TANKS, BUT MAY HAVE OMITTED THE OUTBOARD TANKS. HE DEPARTED AND CLIMBED TO 100 FEET WHERE THE AIRPLANE YAWED RIGHT. HE BELIEVED IT WAS A GUST OF WIND WHICH HE ATTEMPTED TO CORRECT. AT 200 FEET, THE PILOT STATED THE AIRPLANE ROLLED HARD RIGHT AND IMPACTED TREES IN A 60 DEGREE NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF A LEFT ENGINE DISCREPANCY PRIOR TO IMPACT. THE RIGHT ENGINE WAS EXAMINED WITH NO FUEL FOUND IN THE FUEL LINES, AND TRACE FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE FUEL SERVO. ACCORDING TO THE ACCIDENT PILOT, HE REGULARLY FLEW BETWEEN WASHINGTON-DULLES AND SOUTHPORT, NORTH CAROLINA USING ONLY THE INBOARD TANKS. BECAUSE OF THIS, HE DID NOT CHECK THE LOCATION OF THE FUEL SELECTOR, NOR DID HE NECESSARILY CHECK THE FUEL QUANTITY IN THE OUTBOARD FUEL TANKS. THE COCKPIT FUEL SELECTOR FOR THE RIGHT ENGINE WAS FOUND IN THE OUTBOARD TANK LOCATION. THE RIGHT OUTBOARD TANK ON THIS AIRPLANE WAS NOT BREACHED, AND CONTAINED NO FUEL. THE TAKEOFF CHECKLIST STATES THE FUEL SELECTOR SHOULD BE ON THE INBOARD FUEL TANK PRIOR TO TAKEOFF.                  (-23) DURING THE TAKEOFF CLIMB THE AIRCRAFT YAWED RIGHT FOLLOWED BY A STEEP RIGHT BANK FROM WHICH THE PILOT COULD NOT RECOVER. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE RIGHT ENGINE WAS NOT PRODUCING POWER WHEN THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED.  INVESTIGATION ALSO REVEASED THAT THE RIGHT OUTBOARD TANK WAS SELECTED, WHICH IS PROHIBITED BY THE AIRCRAFT FLIGHT MANUAL FOR TAKEOFFS.  THE PILOT WAS UNABLE OT MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT AFTER THE ENGINE FAILURE AND THE AIRCRAFT SUBSEQUENTLY CRASHED IN A NEAR VERTICAL POSITION IN THE TREES NEXT TO THE RUNWAY.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ATL98FA059](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98FA059), Mar 22, 1998: Piper PA-31-310 (N715PM), Southport, NC, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to follow the preflight checklist, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the significance of the accident was the pilot's failure to…

## Other reports on N715PM (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19881221067839I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19881221067839I), Dec 21, 1988: Piper PA31310 (N715PM), Avon Park, FL, Minor damage. Backfiring from left engine due to clogged fuel injector on takeoff. Returned and nose gear folded on landing.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.