# Accident 20120128001589A: Piper PA-31-310, Palm Beach, FL, January 28, 2012

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 28, 2012, 14:46 local time
- Place: Palm Beach, FL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 26.7706° N, 80.0353° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.7706&lon=-80.0353&mi=10
- Aircraft: N30DC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N30DC-2012-04-27) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-31-310 (registry code 7103102, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31-310) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-31-310
- Reported engine: LYCOMING TI0-540 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 2,100 total, 100 in this make and model, 18 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA12LA165](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA12LA165) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120128001589A

## Narrative

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

PILOT STATES ROUTE OF FLIGHT WAS FPR-PBI-MYSM-PBI.  AIRCRAFT WAS FUELED SEVERAL DAYS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE AT FPR BY OWNER, AND PILOT TOOK ON 22 GALLONS UPON LANDING AT PBI, WHICH TOPPED ALL TANKS, ACCORDING TO THE PILOT AND THE LINEMAN WHO CONDUCTED THE FUELING.THE AIRCRAFT THEN TOOK ON 3 PASSENGERS, CONSISTING OF ONE OF THE OWNERS AND HIS FAMILY, AND DEPARTED FOR MYSM.  THE FLIGHT WAS REPORTED AS ROUTINE, AND UPON ARRIVAL, THE PASSENGERS DISEMBARKED, AND THE PILOT DEPARTED FOR THE RETURN FLIGHT TO FPR.  THE PILOT STATES THAT UPON REACHING CRUISE ALTITUDE, HE NOTED THE LEFT ENGINE WAS ONLY DEVELOPING ABOUT 26" OF MANIFOLD PRESSURE, WHICH WAS LOW.  NO OTHER ABNORMAL INDICATIONS WERE NOTED, SO THE PILOT MATCHED POWER SETTINGS ON THE RIGHT ENGINE, AND CONTINUED THE FLIGHT AT A REDUCED AIRSPEED AND FUEL FLOW.  HIS COMPUTATIONS INDICATE HE EXPECTED TO ARRIVE AT FPR WITH MORE THAN THE REQUIRED 30 MINUTE VFR RESERVE.  HE FURTHER STATED THAT UPON EXHAUSTING THE FUEL IN THE OUTBOARD TANKS, HE NOTED THAT THE LEFT ENGINE LOST POWER ABOUT 15 MINUTES BEFORE THE RIGHT, WHICH WAS UNUSUAL, AS BOTH ENGINES USUALLY BURNED EVENLY, AND THEY BOTH WOULD LOSE POWER WITHIN FIVE MINUTES OF EACH OTHER.  AS HE HAS DONE PREVIOUSLY, HE SWITCHED THE ENGINES TO THE FUEL REMAINING IN THE RESPECTIVE INBOARD TANK, AND CONTINUED TO FPR.HE COMMENCED HIS DESCENT ABOUT 60NM FROM FPR, AND AT ABOUT 40NM FROM FPR, THE LEFT ENGINE BEGAN SURGING.  HE NOTED THE LEFT FUEL GAUGE INDICATED "JUST BELOW ¼ TANK ON THE LEFT MAIN AND ABOVE ¼ ON THE RIGHT MAIN".  HE STATES HE TURNED ON THE EMERGENCY FUEL BOOST PUMP AND SELECTED FUEL CROSS FEED FOR THE LEFT ENGINE, WHICH RESTORED POWER TO THE ENGINE. USING GPS POSITIONING, HE DETERMINED HE WAS CLOSEST TO PBI, SLOWED HIS DESCENT RATE, AND TURNED TOWARD PBI, CONTACTING PBI APPROACH CONTROL.SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE LEFT ENGINE AGAIN LOST POWER, FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY THE RIGHT ENGINE.  THE PILOT ATTEMPTED VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF FUEL CROSS FEED AND TANK SELECTION, BUT WAS UNABLE TO RESTORE POWER TO EITHER ENGINE.  HE STATES HE FEATHERED BOTH ENGINES AT ABOUT 7500 FT, AND ESTABLISHED A BEST GLIDE ATTITUDE.  BELIEVING HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE THE AIRPORT, AND NOT WANTING TO RISK A LANDING IN THE POPULATED, RESIDENTIAL AREA SURROUNDING THE PBI AIRPORT, THE PILOT ELECTED TO LAND ON AN OPEN AREA OF BEACH ON PALM BEACH ISLAND.  HE LANDED WITH THE GEAR UP, FLAPS DOWN AND CAME TO A STOP IN ABOUT 400 FEET.  HE SECURED THE AIRCRAFT, AND EXITED UNHARMED.

## 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 ERA12LA165](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA12LA165), Jan 28, 2012: Piper PA-31-310 (N30DC), Palm Beach, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s in-flight misjudgment of fuel remaining resulting in fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was an inadequate fuel quantity for the flight for…

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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