# Accident 20040403007809A: Piper PA32R300, Georgetown, TX, April 3, 2004

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 3, 2004, 08:50 local time
- Place: Georgetown, TX
- Airport: Georgetown Municipal Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Forced Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.6739° N, 97.6742° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.6739&lon=-97.6742&mi=10
- Aircraft: N47976 (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA32R300
- Reported engine: LYC IO540*
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,023 total, 440 in this make and model, 11 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW04LA101](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW04LA101) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040403007809A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON APRIL 3, 2004, AT APPROXIMATELY 08:50 A.M. CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER LANCE LANDED OFF AIRPORT FOLLOWING A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER WHILE MANEUVERING TO LAND AT THE GEORGETOWN, TEXAS AIRPORT (GTU). THE AIRCRAFT ORIGINALLY DEPARTED DAVID WAYNE HOOKS AIRPORT (DWH) FOR THE NON-STOP FLIGHT. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT, WHO WAS FLYING FROM THE RIGHT SEAT, AND ONE PILOT RATED PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE DUE TO IMPACT WITH SEVERAL STREET SIGNS AND CURBS. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, HE DEPARTED DWH WITH THE FUEL SELECTOR ON THE RIGHT TANK, THEN UPON REACHING A CRUISE ALTITUDE OF 4,500 FEET HE SELECTED THE LEFT FUEL TANK. APPROXIMATELY EIGHT OR NINE MINUTES FROM GTU HE INITIATED A 400-FOOT PER MINUTE DESCENT. HE ALSO REDUCED POWER TO 23 INCHES OF MANIFOLD PRESSURE AND SWITCHED THE FUEL SELECTOR FROM THE LEFT TO THE RIGHT TANK. UPON REACHING A PATTERN ALTITUDE OF 1800 FEET APPROXIMATELY FOUR MILES WEST OF THE AIRPORT, HE ENTERED A TIGHT RIGHT DOWNWIND FOR RUNWAY 36. THEN HE REDUCED POWER TO 18 INCHES OF MANIFOLD PRESSURE, TURNED ON THE FUEL BOOST PUMP, AND PUSHED THE MIXTURE AND PROP CONTROLS FORWARD. HE EXTENDED THE DOWNWIND LEG TO FURTHER REDUCE SPEED. UPON TURNING BASE, HE EXTENDED THE LANDING GEAR AND PUSHED THE THROTTLE FORWARD BUT THE ENGINE WOULD NOT RESPOND. AT THAT TIME HE MOVED THE THROTTLE BACK AND FORTH, VERIFIED THE MIXTURE WAS FULL RICH, AND VERIFIED THAT THE FUEL BOOST PUMP WAS ON. HE DID NOT SELECT THE OPPOSITE (LEFT) FUEL TANK. THE PILOT LANDED THE AIRCRAFT APPROXIMATELY THREE TO FIVE MILES SOUTHEAST OF THE GTU AIRPORT ON THE NORTHBOUND IH-35 ACCESS ROAD JUST SOUTH OF RR 2338.

## 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 FTW04LA101](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW04LA101), Apr 3, 2004: Piper PA-32R-300 (N47976), Georgetown, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced 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.

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