# NTSB ANC15LA010: Piper PA 12, N2370M, Palmer, AK, February 1, 2015 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: January 31, 2015, 20:40 local (Feb 1, 2015, 05:40 UTC) - Place: Palmer, AK - Coordinates: 61.582778, -149.087219 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.5828&lon=-149.0872&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Approach-VFR pattern base: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 5, 2015 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA Wasilla FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 90682 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC15LA010 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/90682/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=90682 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC15LA010 ## Probable cause The student pilot’s improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inadvertent switching of the fuel selector to the “off” position during the attempted engine restart. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015): Personnel issues › Task performance · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-12, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md?model=7101202), [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md) - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid level (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-12, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=7101202), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) - [Object/animal/substance: wire](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcome; cases with it: [Piper PA-12, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032/cases.md?model=7101202), [All aircraft, 588 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015): Personnel issues › Task performance · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-12, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md?model=7101202), [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Approach-VFR pattern base: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-12, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md?model=7101202), [All aircraft, 733 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Piper PA-12, 42 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=7101202), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot reported that he was practicing night, solo takeoffs and landings when the engine lost power. He attempted to restart the engine by applying carburetor heat and switching the fuel selector from the left tank to the right tank, but the engine did not regain power. He did not think that the airplane could reach the runway, so he chose to conduct a forced landing in a golf course adjacent to the airport. During the final approach, the landing gear contacted a power line, and the airplane subsequently impacted terrain. The student pilot further reported that he believed that he inadvertently switched the fuel selector to the "off" position instead of the "right tank" position after the power loss. Examination of the airplane's fuel tanks after the accident revealed that the left wing fuel tank was empty. ## Factual narrative On January 31, 2015, about 2040 Alaska standard time, a Piper PA-12 airplane, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing, following a loss of engine power while in the traffic pattern at the Palmer Municipal Airport, Palmer Alaska. The student pilot was not injured. The airplane was registered to a private individual, and operated by the pilot as a night, visual flight rules training flight under the provisions of 14 CFR part 91 when the accident occurred. Night, visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. In a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge, the student pilot stated that he was practicing night, solo takeoff and landings at the Palmer Airport. While turning from the downwind to base leg in the traffic pattern, the engine began to sputter and lose power. He applied carburetor heat and switched fuel tanks, and the engine momentarily regained power, but then lost power a second time. Not thinking that he could make the runway environment, he elected for a forced landing on a golf course adjacent to the airport. During the final approach, the airplane's landing gear contacted a power line, and the airplane impacted terrain, sustaining substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety inspector from the Wasilla Flight Standards District Office revealed that the left wing fuel tank was empty. In a separate interview with the FAA, the student pilot stated that after the engine lost power the first time he thought that he inadvertently switched the fuel selector valve to the "OFF" position instead of the "Right Tank" position. The student pilot did not complete and submit NTSB form 6120.1 ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2370M](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2370M-2018-10-23), registration cancelled 2018-10-23, S/N 12-1613, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA 12 - Registry model: [Piper PA-12](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-12) (registry code 7101202) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-290 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-290-series) (registry code 41506, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 12-1613 - Year built: 1946 - Engines: LYCOMING O-290 SERIES reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: Wasilla, AK - Destination: PAQ, PALMER, AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 37; injuries: none; student; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, unknown; seat: front; flight hours: 35 total, 35 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night - Wind: 120° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 3 °F, dew point 1 °F - Altimeter: 30.23 inHg - Observed at: PAAQ, 1 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20150131002879A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150131002879A), Jan 31, 2015: Piper PA-12, Palmer, AK, Substantial damage. PA-12 N2370M, serial number 12-1613, operating under 14 CFR part 91, was significantly damaged while attempting an emergency landing due to engine failure… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 13, 2015, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=90682. 80 KB in all. - Pilot Statement to Federal Aviation Administration (item 1, .PDF, 17 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40432609&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%20Statement%20to%20Federal%20Aviation%20Administration-Master.PDF - FAA Interview Summary (item 2, .PDF, 63 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40432610&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=FAA%20Interview%20Summary-Master.PDF 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.