# Accident 19990105009749A: Piper PA30, Fairfield, VA, January 5, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: January 5, 1999, 12:55 local time - Place: Fairfield, VA - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 37.8805° N, 79.3000° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.8805&lon=-79.3000&mi=10 - Aircraft: N3TH, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3TH-2002-09-13) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-30 (registry code 7103002, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-30) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming IO-320 series (registry code 41509, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-320-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA30 - Reported engine: LYC IO320B1A - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 20,000 total, 3,500 in this make and model, 60 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD99LA026](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD99LA026) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990105009749A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19)ON JANUARY 5, 1999, AT 1255 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-30, N3TH, WAS DESTROYED DURING A FORCED LANDING TO A FIELD NEAR FAIRFIELD, VIRGINIA. THE CERTIFICATED COMMERCIAL PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED. A SECOND PASSENGER RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT THAT ORIGINATED AT MARTIN STATE AIRPORT (MTN), BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, AT 1136, DESTINED FOR ROANOKE, VIRGINIA (ROA). AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. IN A PERLIMINARY REPORT THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) STATED N3TH WAS IN CRUISE FLIGHT AT 6,000 FEET IN THE VICINITY OF MONTEBELLO, VIRGINIA, WHEN THE PILOT REPORTED A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. THE PILOT SAID HE WOULD ATTEMPT TO LAND ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAY 81. ACCORDING TO AN FAA AVIATION SAFETY INSPECTOR WHO RESPONDED TO THE SCENE, THE PASSENGER IN THE BACK SEAT SAID THAT THE AIRPLANE FLEW THROUNG A DENSE CLOUD PRIOR TO A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER ON THE RIGHT ENGINE. HE SAID THAT HE LIKED TO MONITOR THE GAUGES DURING FLIGHT AND NOTICED EACH ENGINE CONSUMED 9 GOLLONS PER HOUR WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT. THE PASSENGER SAID THAT THE FUEL FLOW GAUGE ON THE RIGHT ENGINE WENT TO ZERO WHEN THE ENGINE STOPPED. THE BACK SEAT PASSENGER SAID THAT AT THE TIME OF THE POWER LOSS, THE PILOT ENTERED A LEFT BANK AND ATTEMPTED TO RE-START THE RIGHT ENGINE. HE SAID THE PILOT SELECTED THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY FOR LANDING AND CONTINUED THE ATTEMPTED RESTART WHILE IN A LEFT DESCENDING ORBIT. THE PASSENGER SAID THE LEFT ENGINE ALSO STOPPED PRODUCING POWER AND THE PILOT DETERMINED THE HIGHWAY COULD NOT BE REACHED. WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH TO LAND IN A FIELD, THE AIRPLANE STALLED, AND THE PILOT ACCOMPLISHED A PARTIAL RECOVERY FROM THE STALL PRIOR TO GROUND CONTACT. IN A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW, THE FRONT SEAT PASSENGER SAID THE OUTSIDE AIR TEMPERATURE IN CRUISE FLIGHT WAS "...FORTY BELOW ZERO." HE SAID BOTH ENGINES WERE "SPITTING AND SPATTERING" PRIOR TO THE LOSS OF POWER ON THE RIGHT ENGINE. THE PASSENGER SAID THE PILOT ENTERED THE LEFT DESCENDING ORBIT AND ACCOMPLISHED A RESTART OF THE RIGHT ENGINE BEFORE BOTH ENGINES LOST POWER. IN A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW, A PILOT RATED WITNESS STATED HE NOTICED THE AIRPLANE OVERHEAD. HE SAID: "I NOTICED THE AIRPLANE AT A HIGH ANGLE OF BANK, HIGH POWER SETTING, AND HIGH RPM. HE CIRCLED ABOUT EIGHT TIMES. HE LOOKED LIKE HE WAS ABOUT 4,000 FEET AND, AT THE TIME, IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE AN EMERGENCY. I COULD NOT HEAR IF IT WAS ONE ENGINE OR TWO. THERE WAS NO SPUTTERING. IT WAS PUTTING OUT A LOT OF POWER. HE WAS CIRCLING AS IF HE WAS TRYING TO OBSERVE SOMETHING ON THE GROUND." ACCORDING TO THE MARYLAND AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, THE AIRPLANE WAS "TOPPED OFF" WITH 48.8 GALLONS OF FUEL APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR PRIOR TO DEPARTURE FROM MTN. PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE BY THE FAA REVEALED EVIDENCE OF FUEL AT THE SCENE. THE INSPECTORS MEASURED APPROXIMATELY 6 INCHES OF FUEL IN EACH MAIN TANK AND NO FUEL IN EITHER NACELLE TANK. THE LEFT AUXILIARY TANK MEASURED APPROXIMATELY 3 INCHES OF FUEL AND THE RIGHT AUXILIARY TANK WAS RUPTURED. THE LEFT FUEL SELECTOR WAS FOUND IN THE 'MAIN' POSITION AND THE RIGHT FUEL SELECTOR WAS FOUND IN THE 'AUX.' POSITION. NEITHER PROPELLER WAS FEATHERED AND THE PROPELLER LEVERS WERE FOUND IN THE FULL FORWARD POSITION. ACCORDING TO THE OWNER'S HANDBOOK: (.4)THE AIRPLANE WAS IN CRUISE FLIGHT AT 6,000 FEET IN BELOW ZERO TEMPERATURES WHEN THE RIGHT ENGINE STOPPED PRODUCING POWER. THE PILOT ENTERED A LEFT-HAND ORBIT AND ATTEMPTED AN ENGINE RESTART. AFTER SEVERAL ORBITS, THE LEFT ENGINE STOPPED PRODUCING POWER. THE PILOT COMPLETED A FORCED LANDING TO A FIELD THAT DESTROYED THE AIRPLANE. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED EVIDENCE OF FUEL AT THE SCENE WITH THE LEFT FUEL SELECTOR IN THE 'AUXILIARY' POSITION AND THE RIGHT SELECTOR IN THE 'MAIN' POSITION. THE RIGHT FUEL SELECTOR FILTER ELEMENT BOWL COULD NOT BE FREED AFTER REMOVAL OF THE MOUNT SCREWS. THE BOWL WAS PRIED FREE AND THE FILTER ELEMENT SCREENS WERE FOUND COMPLETELY OCCLUDED WITH ICE. AN FAA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE (AD), 'TO ELIMINATE WATER CONTAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT FUEL SUPPLY', THAT MANDATED COMPLIANCE EVERY 50 HOURS OF OPERATION, HAD NOT BEEN COMPLIED WITH IN 16 CALENDAR MONTHS AND 234 HOURS OF OPERATION. THE OWNER'S HANDBOOK STATED AUXILIARY FUEL AND TIP TANK FUEL SHOULD BE USED IN LEVEL FLIGHT ONLY, AND THAT THE SINGLE ENGINE SERVICE CEILING WAS APPROXIMATELY 5,800 FEET, AT MAXIMUM GROSS WEIGHT. BOTH ENGINES STARTED AND RAN TO RATED POWER IN A TEST CELL. ## 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 IAD99LA026](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD99LA026), Jan 5, 1999: Piper PA-30 (N3TH), Fairfield, VA, destroyed. Probable cause: The owner's failure to comply with the Airworthiness Directive and the subsequent fuel system filter blockage by ice leading to fuel starvation and power loss of the right engine. Additionally, the… 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.