ERA17LA075

During a local personal flight, the airline transport pilot was performing a series of steep turns to the right with the fuel selector positioned to the right tank, which contained about 4.5 gallons of fuel. When the airplane rolled out of a steep turn, the engine began to sputter and lose power. The pilot subsequently performed a forced landing to a field, during which the airplane flipped over and sustained substantial damage to the left wing. After the accident, the pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation and that the loss of engine power was likely the result of fuel starvation due to the low quantity of fuel in the right fuel tank. This likely occurred during the steep turn to the right as the fuel inside the right fuel tank flowed outboard and away from the fuel pickup located on the inboard side of the tank.

On December 27, 2016, about 1600 central standard time, a Cessna 172H, N3772F, was substantially damaged during a forced landing. The airline transport pilot was not injured, the passenger sustained minor injuries. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight that departed Marin County Airport-Brown Field (APT), Jasper, Tennessee. The pilot stated that he departed for a local flight with 11 gallons of fuel, and during the flight he noted that there was more fuel in the right tank than then left. He switched the fuel selector from the BOTH position to the RIGHT position. The pilot then performed a series of steep turns to the right, varying between 45° to 60° of bank, over a relative's house. While rolling out from the steep turns the engine began to surge, sputter, and lose power. After attempting to restart the engine to no avail, he performed a forced landing in a field. The airplane flipped over and came to rest inverted resulting in substantial damage to the left wing. After the accident, the pilot moved the fuel selector back to the BOTH position. A postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector revealed that the right fuel tank contained about 4.5 gallons of fuel, and the left tank contained about 3.5 gallons of fuel. The pilot reported that prior to the loss of engine power, there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation and that the low quantity of fuel in the right fuel tank likely resulted in fuel starvation. The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with a rating for airplane multi-engine land, as well as a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single, and instrument airplane. He reported 5,572 hours of total flight experience, his most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on July 28, 2016. According to a note in the airplane's Owner's Manual under the heading Power Recovery Techniques, "Should power irregularities occur when operating on a single tank, power can be restored by switching to the opposite tank. In addition, the vapor accumulation in the tank on which the power irregularity occurred will rapidly dissipate itself such that that tank will also be available for normal operation after it has been unused for approximately one minute." Review of the airplane's Illustrated Parts Catalog showed that the fuel pickup for both wing-mounted fuel tanks was located at the inboard side of each tank. The weather conditions at Winchester Municipal Airport (BGF), Winchester, Tennessee, located about 20 nautical miles northwest of the accident site, at 0355, included wind 350° at 6 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, overcast at 4,400 ft, temperature 12° C and dew point of 5° C, and altimeter setting of 30.20 inches of mercury.