- Date
- May 29, 2021, 09:15 local (13:15 UTC)
- Place
- Flint, MI
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N3992WPiper PA-32-260
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Fuel starvation
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA East Michigan FSDO
- FAA report
- 20210529007079A
- Case key
- 103197
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 adequately monitor his fuel quantity during flight which resulted in a partial loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
Findings · 3
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
The pilot reported that, before the flight, he set a 30-minute fuel management timer to remind him to switch fuel tanks. The pilot took off and conducted flight maneuvers; he then returned to the airport to practice touch-and-go landings. The alarm from his fuel management timer activated while on short final for the first landing; however, he forgot to switch fuel tanks. During the initial climb after the fourth touch-and-go landing, the engine sputtered and lost power. The pilot attempted to land on a nearby taxiway that paralleled the runway; however, the pilot overshot the taxiway. As the pilot turned the airplane back towards the taxiway, he held too much back pressure on the yoke in order to remain airborne and stalled the airplane, about 15 ft above ground level. The airplane impacted the ground and came to rest on the taxiway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and to both wings. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe and engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot additionally stated that the accident could have been prevented if he had immediately switched to the other fuel tank when his fuel management timer alarm activated.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3992W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-260
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-935
- Built
- 1967
- Airframe hours
- 4,967
- Engine
- Lycoming Engines 0-540-E4B5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 2020
- Airport
- FNT · Bishop Intl, runway 09/27, 7,201 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B
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
- 44
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 11, 2019
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 331 total · 177 in this make and model · 284 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.18 inHg
- Observed at
- KFNT
- METAR
- KFNT 291253Z 04012KT 10SM CLR 10/00 A3018 RMK AO2 SLP225 T01000000
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 27, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.6 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.