CEN21LA048

The pilot of the personal flight said he completed a night cross-country flight to two airports and returned for landing to the departure airport. During approach to the departure airport, he overflew the airport at low-level to check for deer on the runway for intended landing. During a right turn for the landing approach, the engine lost power and a subsequent engine restart attempt was unsuccessful. He stated that he could still hear some engine noise and tried to use the throttle to pump fuel. He stated there was a slight rise in engine speed when he first pumped the throttle. He was unable to regain engine power then performed a forced landing during which the airplane sustained substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed about 1 pint of fuel in the left fuel tank and about 12 gallons of fuel in the right fuel tank. There was about 1 tablespoon of fuel in the carburetor and no fuel in the gascolator bowl. The loss of engine power during the right turn, with the right wing in a low attitude, most likely occurred due to unporting of any residual fuel in the left fuel tank, which did not have useable fuel remaining. Also, when some engine power was regained during the pumping of the throttle, it was indicative of only residual fuel available from the carburetor. Though the pilot stated he selected the left fuel tank about 30 minutes prior to accident, a positive selection would have supplied usable fuel to the engine and a loss of engine power likely would not have occurred.

On November 6, 2020, at 2045 eastern standard time, an Piper PA-28-140, N9993W, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Greenville, Michigan. The commercial pilot and two passengers were uninjured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot stated that during the night cross country flight, he flew to and landed at two airports performing a total of two full stop landings and one touch and go landing, prior to returning to the departure airport. Before approaching the departure airport, he performed two steep turns and a power-off stall. He then performed a low pass about over runway 18/36 to check for deer prior to a straight-in approach for landing on runway 28. During a right turn for the approach, the engine lost power and a subsequent engine restart attempt was unsuccessful. He stated that he could still hear some engine noise and tried to use the throttle to pump fuel. He stated there was a slight rise in engine speed when he first pumped the throttle. He stated he did not look at the tachometer or oil pressure gauge to determine if the engine was still running. He did not check the magnetos due to the low altitude but saw that the magneto switch was on BOTH. He then performed a forced landing on a partially harvested corn field. During the landing, the airplane sustained substantial damage that included damage to the firewall, fuselage, left wing, and right wing. When the pilot was asked about his use of the fuel quantity gauges to verify fuel level, he stated he does not look at them because they are only accurate when empty. He stated he does his planning and keeps track of fuel burn on paper. The pilot stated he switched from the left fuel tank to the right fuel tank at 1954, from right fuel tank to left fuel tank at 2025, and before entering the airport traffic pattern, he switched back to the right fuel tank to be on fullest fuel tank. He stated that based upon his fuel consumption calculations, there should have been 7 gallons of fuel remaining in each fuel tank. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed about 1 pint of 100 low lead (100LL) aviation fuel was present in the left fuel tank and about 12 gallons of 100LL was present in the right fuel tank. Both fuel tanks were found intact after the accident sequence. The left fuel quantity transmitter was out of tolerance, reading 3 ohms high on FULL and 27 ohms high on EMPTY. When moving the left transmitter through the range, the ohmmeter fluctuated significantly, indicating dead spots in the transmitter. The right transmitter was slightly out of tolerance, reading 0.5 ohm low on FULL. The EMPTY range was within tolerance. The fuel selector valve was removed and inspected. The valve rotation was stiff and the detents for the valve position were not readily perceptible. The valve exhibited rotational scoring in the valve body and on the plug cock. The plug cock also was discolored and hadcontaminant buildup. The detents on the plug cock were worn. The pilot stated that because of the lack of detents, he visually verified the position of the selector lever. The carburetor bowl drain plug was removed to observe the fuel quantity and quality. Approximately one tablespoon of a blue liquid consistent with 100LL was present. The airframe fuel strainer bowl was found loose, with the safety wire intact. The bowl was not seated in the strainer housing and the thumbwheel on the bail wire was loose. The was no damage to the strainer except for a bent ear on the quick drain valve. The gascolator strainer was removed to inspect condition. No fuel was found in the strainer bowl.