# Accident 20030525021419A: Piper PA31P, Minocqua/Woodru, WI, May 25, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 25, 2003, 17:50 local time
- Place: Minocqua/Woodru, WI
- Airport: Noble F Lee Memorial Field Arp
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 45.9472° N, 89.7361° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.9472&lon=-89.7361&mi=10
- Aircraft: N36DR, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N36DR-2004-09-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-31P (registry code 7103120, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31p) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TIGO-541SER (registry code 41539, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-tigo-541ser) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA31P
- Reported engine: LYC TIGO541E1A
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 4
- Pilot flight hours: 13,200 total, 30 in this make and model, 6 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI03FA138](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI03FA138) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030525021419A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON MAY 25, 2003, AT 2250Z, A PIPER MODEL PA-31P, N36DR, ON TAKE-OFF FROM ARBOR VITAE (ARV) AIRPORT, ARBOR VITAE, WI, CRASH-LANDED AND BURNED A QUARTER MILE NORTH WEST OF RUNWAY 36. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND THREE PASSENGERSSUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. EDWARD R. VOLGER WAS OPERATING THE AIRCRAFT AS A PERSONAL FLIGHT, FOR THE OWNER, UNDER 14 CFR PART 91 WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME. INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THE NO.1 ENGINE WAS NOT RUNNING AT TIME OF FINAL IMPACT. FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY CHECK REVEALED ONLY DAMAGE CONSISTENT WITH IMPACT. FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF NO. 1 ENGINE PROVED INCONCLUSIVE AS TO CAUSE OF FAILURE. FLIGHT PATH CONSISTENT WITH LOSS OF CONTROL DUE TO LEFT ENGINE FAILURE.

## 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 CHI03FA138](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI03FA138), May 25, 2003: Piper PA-31P (N36DR), Woodruff, WI, destroyed, 4 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to follow the before take-off checklist which led to an improper selection of the auxilliary fuel tanks for the takeoff leading to the subsequent fuel starvation of the left…

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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