- Date
- October 23, 2021, 09:50 local (13:50 UTC)
- Place
- Sligo, PA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7371PPiper PA-24-250
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20211023018089A
- Case key
- 104155
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
A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilots mismanagement of fuel.
Findings · 4
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
According to the pilot, he was in cruise flight when the engine lost full power. The pilot reported that he did not have enough time to attempt a restart of the engine or to switch fuel tanks, due to the low altitude of the airplane. He elected to conduct an off-field emergency landing. During the landing, the airplane impacted a tree, which resulted in substantial damage to the left outboard wing, right horizontal stabilizer and fuselage. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed the fuel selector was positioned on the right fuel tank- AUX position. The right fuel tank-AUX fuel tank was checked, and no fuel was discovered in the tank, however, about 75 gallons of fuel was drained from the remaining tanks. In a telephone interview with the pilot, he stated that took off on the right AUX tank. The post-accident examination did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7371P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-2552
- Built
- 1961
- Airframe hours
- 5,913
- Engine
- Lycoming O540-A1D5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 23, 2021 · 23 hours before
- Departed
- YNG · Youngstown, OH
- Destination
- HXD · Hilton Head Island, SC
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Onboard weather, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Angle of attack indicator
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
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 1, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 352 total · 32 in this make and model · 194 as pilot in command · 32 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- Cleveland Center
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 12, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.0 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.