- Date
- July 13, 1998, 10:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Nehawka, NE
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3770APiper PA-22
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 19, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980713023619A
- Case key
- 43080
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 improper fuel management and his improper use of the fuel tank selector. Factors were fuel starvation and crops.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot said that while in cruise flight the engine suffered a loss of power. He said that in response to the loss of power, he tried the carburetor heat, switched the fuel tank selector, and checked the magnetos. He said that when power was not recovered, he switched the fuel selector back to the tank originally selected, and initiated a forced landing in a crop (corn) field. Subsequent to the accident, the fuel selector was found selected to the right fuel tank. There was no leakage from the tank. When the wings were removed to move the airplane, one quart of fuel was removed from the right tank. After the airplane was righted the engine was started and ran with no noted mechanical anomalies.
Factual narrative
On July 13, 1998, at 1030 central daylight time, a Piper PA-22, N3770A, piloted by commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage when it impacted the terrain during a forced landing, following a loss of engine power during cruise flight, near Nehawka, Nebraska. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal 14 CFR Part 91 flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The flight departed Nebraska City Municipal Airport, Nebraska City, Nebraska at 0945.
The pilot indicated in written and a verbal statements to investigators that while in cruise flight the engine suffered a loss of power. He said that in response to the loss of power, he tried the carburetor heat, switched the fuel tank selector, and checked the magnetos. He said that when power was not recovered, he switched the fuel selector back to the tank originally selected, and initiated a forced landing in a crop (corn) field.
Subsequent to the accident, the fuel selector was found selected to the right fuel tank. The airplane was inverted and there was no fuel leakage from the fuel cap on that tank, although fuel was leaking out of the cap on the left tank. There was no fuel on the ground around the right tank or found in the foliage near the wreckage. When the wings were removed to move the airplane, one quart of fuel was removed from the right tank. After the airplane was righted the engine was started and ran with no noted mechanical anomalies.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3770A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-2012
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-D2, 135 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Keith R Balfour
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- PMV · Nebraska City, NE
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
- 71
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 8,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LNK, 30 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.