# NTSB CEN22LA237: Piper PA28, N8283V, Fort Worth, TX, June 7, 2022 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: June 7, 2022, 14:15 local (19:15 UTC) - Place: Fort Worth, TX - Coordinates: 32.809967, -97.363764 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.8100&lon=-97.3638&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 105215 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN22LA237 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/105215/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105215 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN22LA237 ## Probable cause The student pilot’s inadequate fuel management that resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid management (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-28-161, 11 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=7102803), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/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-28-161, 12 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md?model=7102803), [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. - [Takeoff: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-28-161, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md?model=7102803), [All aircraft, 733 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot was practicing a touch-and-go landing following a cross-country flight when the accident occurred. During the takeoff portion of the touch and go, at an altitude of 100 ft above the runway, the engine stopped producing power. The student pilot performed a forced landing and the left wing collided with a tree and separated which resulted in substantial damage. A postaccident examination of the airplane found the right fuel tank was empty and the left fuel tank was about ½ full of fuel. The student pilot reported the right fuel tank was selected when the engine lost power. It is likely that the engine lost power when it was starved of fuel. ## Factual narrative On June 7, 2022, about 1415 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28-161 airplane, N8283V, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Fort Worth, Texas. The student pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight. The solo student pilot returned from a cross-country flight and planned on practicing touch-and-go landings. After the first touch-and-go landing to runway 17, when the airplane was about 100 ft above ground level, the airplane’s engine stopped producing power. The student pilot performed a forced landing straight ahead. During the landing, the airplane’s left wing contacted a tree and separated resulting in substantial damage. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector responded to the accident site and examined the airplane. He found that the fuel selector was selected to the left fuel tank, which was about half full of fuel. The right fuel tank was empty. The student pilot reported to the FAA inspector that the fuel selector was on the right tank when the engine stopped producing power. The student pilot stated the selector was moved to the left tank position when the airplane was being secured after the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8283V](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8283V), registered now, S/N 28-8116065, built 1980 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28 (161) - Registry model: [Piper PA-28-161](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-161) (registry code 7102803) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 28-8116065 - Year built: 1980 - Airframe hours: 15799.38 - Engines: LYCOMING O-320-D3G 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Delta Qualiflight Aviation - Registered owner: Miloud Chadd K - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, April 5, 2022, 56 hours before - Departed: SEP, Stephenville, TX - Destination: Same as departure - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: FTW, Fort Worth Meacham Intl, runway 17, 4,005 × 75 ft, asphalt - Equipment: ADS-B, Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 21; injuries: none; student; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 57 total, 57 in this make and model, 2.9 as pilot in command, 20 in the last 90 days, 13 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 150° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 90 °F, dew point 70 °F - Altimeter: 29.81 inHg - Observed at: KFTW, 0.5 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 20220607006399A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20220607006399A), Jun 7, 2022: Piper PA-28-161, Fort Worth, TX, Substantial damage. At approximately 150 feet AGL during the first touch and go at Fort Worth Meacham (ftw), the aircraft experienced loss of engine power. Pilot attempted to… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 6, 2023, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105215. 4.1 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 3.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14621811&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120-1_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Case findings (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 122 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14622432&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Case%20Findings%20CEN22LA237-Rel.pdf - Damage description (item 3, PDF, 1 page, 62 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16359390&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Damage%20description-Rel.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.