# Incident 20180225005159I: Piper PA-24-250, Camp Pendleton, CA, February 25, 2018

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 25, 2018, 16:40 local time
- Place: Camp Pendleton, CA
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Aircraft: N244TW (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-24-250
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 300 total, 40 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180225005159I

## Narrative

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

ON FEBRUARY 25, 2018, A PA-24 COMANCHE TOOK OFF FROM PASO ROBLES(KPRB) TO CARLSBAD (KCRQ) WITH APPROXIMATELY 26 GALLONS OF FUEL AND TOTAL OF FOUR INDIVIDUALS ON BOARD. THE PILOT STATED THAT AFTER HIS FUEL CALCULATIONS, HE DETERMINED THAT HE NEEDED AT LEAST 25 GALLONS OF FUEL ABOARD TO COMPLETE THE TRIP.

SOUTH OF DANA POINT AT THE BEGINNING OF DESCENT THE  ENGINE STARTED SPUTTERING. THE PILOT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY OVER CAMP PENDLETON DUE TO HIS ENGINE ROUGHNESS. HE LANDED SAFE AT A MILITARY HELI PAD/RUNWAY.

THE PILOT STATED THAT HE SELECTS EACH TANK INDIVIDUALLY AND SWITCHES TANKS DURING THE FLIGHT. INSPECTOR FROM THE SAN DIEGO FSDO ASKED HOW HE DETERMINED WHEN HE NEEDED TO SWITCH TANKS AND THE PILOT RESPONDED "I RUN ONE TANK EMPTY AND THEN SWITCH TANKS". A SAN DIEGO FSDO INSPECTOR ASKED AGAIN WHAT HE DID ON THE DAY OF THE FLIGHT AND HE SAID " I SWITCHED BETWEEN THEM UNTIL THE ONE SIDE RAN OUT OF FUEL".

THE NEXT MORNING, INSPECTORS  FROM THE SAN DIEGO FSDO WENT OVER TO CHECK THE AIRCRAFT. THE FUEL TANKS WERE CHECKED FOR FUEL. THE TANKS WERE DRAINED AND  THE RIGHT MAIN TANK HAD ONLY .5 GALLONS AND 4 GALLONS IN THE LEFT MAIN TANK, THE TIP TANKS WERE DRY.

THE AIRCRAFT WAS SERVICED WITH 15 GALLONS ON EACH MAIN TANK, AFTER A COUPLE ATTEMPTS TO PRIME THE ENGINE IT STARTED AND GROUND OPERATIONS WAS FOUND NORMAL. AIRCRAFT DEPARTED AND RETURNED TO PALOMAR AIRPORT (CRQ). ALL SYSTEMS OPERATED NORMAL.

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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