- Date
- June 24, 2012, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Richmond, IN
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N8788WPiper PA-28-235
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Fuel starvation
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 9, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- Case key
- 84164
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to ensure that the fuel selector was properly positioned, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
During the initial climb after takeoff, the engine lost power. The pilot reported that he performed the emergency procedures but did not think to check the position of the fuel selector. The pilot conducted a forced landing in a nearby field, and the airplane’s firewall and left wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that the fuel selector was on an auxiliary tank that did not contain any fuel. He added that the fuel selector was easy to move inadvertently and that a passenger’s foot may have moved the selector before takeoff.
Factual narrative
The pilot and three passengers departed the airport in a single-engine airplane. During the climb, when the airplane was about 2,100 feet mean sea level, the engine lost power. The pilot reported that he performed the emergency procedures, but did not think to check the fuel selector. The pilot elected to conduct a force landing in a nearby field. During the landing the airplane’s firewall and left wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot also reported that the fuel selector was on an auxiliary tank that did not contain any fuel. He added that the fuel selector was easy to move inadvertently, and that a passenger’s foot may have moved the selector before takeoff.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8788W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-235
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-10335
- Airframe hours
- 3,746
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540 SERIES, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- John Lewis
- Registered owner
- John Lewis
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 2011
- Departed
- KRID · Richmond, IN
- Destination
- KRID · Richmond, IN
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- KRID · Richmond Municipal
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 26
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 110 total · 10 in this make and model · 110 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- KRID
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 14, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.1 MB in all.