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On Monday September 2, 2019 at 20:10 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-161 aircraft, N2909U, registered to a flying club and operated by a private pilot, received substantial damage during an off airport emergency landing on a roadway 5 miles southeast of ki Sawyer international airport (ksaw), Marquette, Michigan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of title 14 code of federal regulations (CFR) part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and single passenger were not injured. The local flight originated from the livingston county airport (ozw), howell, Michigan at 17:15.

According to the pilot he fueled at livingston county airport taking 12 gallons in the right tank and 18 gallons into the left tank to ?top off?. Airport fuel records show a purchase of 28.1 gallons of fuel by the accident pilot. The pilot and his minor son departed on a northwesterly heading for Marquette. At approximately 18:12 the pilot states he switched fuel tanks from the right side to the left where the fuel selector remained for the duration of the flight.

Livingston county airport is 266 nautical miles from ki Sawyer. The pilot stated the flight was as direct as possible but did deviate around the camp grayling restricted area then north to pellston, Michigan direct to gros cap in the upper peninsula crossing lake Michigan and finally turning northwest direct to Sawyer. This route of flight is approximately 330 nautical miles.

The pilot reported to ki Sawyer 15 nautical miles east of the airport, inbound. Sawyer instructed the pilot to report right base for runway 01. Approximately 10 minutes later (20:10) the pilot reported the aircraft had lost power and was going down.

According to the pilot he was performing the pre-landing checklist when he turned the electric fuel pump on as is called out for in the PA-28 pilots operating handbook (POH). Once the fuel pump started the engine quit. The pilot attempted to restart the engine but failed to follow the engine restart procedures as stated on page 38 of the POH. The first item of this checklist is to switch the fuel selector to the other tank. The pilot made radio contact with Sawyer tower and notified them of the situation then located a road within the heavily wooded area and attempted to land. During the landing, the right wingtip struck a telephone pole causing the aircraft to leave the paved road surface approximately 300 feet from the initial landing point and coming to rest in the trees on the south side of the road. Both the pilot and his passenger were able to egress from the aircraft unassisted. Witnesses made contact with 911 emergency services and within 15 minutes local fire and rescue units were on scene. There was no post-crash fire. Later that evening authorization was given to remove the aircraft to a secure location to allow the road to be reopened for vehicle traffic.

Investigation found the aircraft moved to its assigned hangar at ki Sawyer. The right wing exhibited extensive aft crushing damaged to the outboard leading edge. Both main and aft wing spars were broken at the fuselage attachment points and the wing was folded up and aft. Only the aileron control cables and wing flap push tube remained attached to the wing. The right wing fuel line was crimped and broken by impact forces with no fuel remaining in the wing tank. The aft fuselage exhibited crushing and skin tearing aft of the right wing. Inspection of the cockpit area revealed the throttle set to full power, the mixture to full rich, and the carburetor heat on. The fuel selector valve was set to the left fuel tank. Magnetos were found off with no key in the ignition switch. The propeller and engine cowl showed minimal damage with no fuel found in the engine fuel sump. The left wing appeared undamaged with less than a quart of fuel remaining in the tank.