# NTSB ERA22LA425: Piper PA-22-150, N6076D, Great Barrington, MA, September 18, 2022 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: September 18, 2022, 11:18 local (15:18 UTC) - Place: Great Barrington, MA · Corn field - Coordinates: 42.184214, -73.403241 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.1842&lon=-73.4032&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Approach-VFR go-around: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 105961 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA22LA425 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/105961/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105961 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA22LA425 ## Probable cause The student pilot's inadvertent movement of the fuel selector to the OFF position, which resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [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-22-150, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md?model=7102210), [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md) - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid management (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-22-150, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=7102210), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Approach-VFR go-around: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-22-150, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md?model=7102210), [All aircraft, 733 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md) - [Approach-VFR go-around: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Piper PA-22-150, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=7102210), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot stated that he and a flight instructor departed on a local area instructional flight with about 28 gallons of fuel, enough for 3 or more hours of flying. With the fuel selector on the left fuel tank, they performed various training maneuvers and flew to a nearby airport where they switched to the right fuel tank. They performed three full-stop landings before returning to the practice area. After about 1 hour of flight time, they entered the traffic pattern on the downwind to base leg and switched the fuel selector back to the left fuel tank before beginning their final approach. On the final leg of the traffic pattern, they elected to perform a go-around and added full power; however, the engine lost all power without warning. Too low to troubleshoot, the instructor took the flight controls and performed a forced landing in a corn field, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. As fuel leaked down from the right tank, the student pilot and flight instructor evacuated. The student reported that, during the egress, he turned off the electrical master switch off and switched the fuel tank into the 12 o’clock position. Postaccident examination of the engine did not reveal evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would preclude normal engine operation. The left fuel tank was compromised during impact, and about 4 gallons of fuel were drained out of the right wing tank by first responders. The student pilot’s description that he manipulated the fuel selector to the 12 o’clock position after the accident and during his egress would be consistent with him attempting to turn off fuel flow in order to mitigate the chances of a posaccident fire. However, the position of the fuel selector handle after the accident was actually the right fuel tank position. Given that the loss of engine power occurred shortly after switching fuel tanks, it is likely that the student pilot inadvertently placed the fuel selector in the OFF position during the flight, thus eventually starving the engine for fuel during the attempted go-around after the available fuel supply in the fuel system forward of the fuel selector had been exhausted. The flight instructor was likely unable to confirm the fuel selection because the selector handle was installed on the sidewall behind the student’s left leg. ## Factual narrative On September 18, 2022, about 1118 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-22-150, N6076D, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The student pilot and instructor were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91instructional flight. The student pilot, who was also the owner of the airplane, purchased the airplane 10 months before the accident to start his flight training. About 1015 on the day of the accident, he and the flight instructor departed Walter J Koladza Airport (GBR) Great Barrington, Massachusetts, with about 28 gallons of fuel (3 hours + endurance) and began the flight on the left tank. They flew to Columbia County Airport (1B1) Hudson, New York, and switched to the right tank. They performed three takeoffs and landings to a full stop before conducting basic private pilot maneuvers in the practice area. The student pilot reported the flight as uneventful and the total flight time when they returned to GBR was about 1 hour. The instructor reported that they checked the carburetor heat several times during the flight and switched fuel tanks back to the left tank as they entered the downwind to base leg of the airport traffic pattern. During final approach, which was high and a little fast, the student pilot attempted a go-around. Shortly after adding full throttle and initiating a climb, the engine lost power. There was “no surging, no sputtering, it just quit.” After pumping the throttle with no response, and being too low to troubleshoot, the instructor took the flight controls and performed a forced landing in a corn field. The airplane settled into the corn and immediately “dug in” and spun to the left before coming to a stop on its left side. According to the student pilot, as fuel leaked down from the right tank, the student pilot and flight instructor evacuated. During the egress, the student reported that he turned the master switch to OFF and switched the fuel tank selector handle (which was installed on the sidewall behind his left leg) into the 12 o’clock position. According to the airframe manufacturer and photographs of the wreckage, that position was the right tank position, and was not the OFF position. First responders subsequently drained about 4 gallons of fuel from the right wing. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the left wing was severed, and the fuselage was crushed in several locations. In addition, the left fuel tank was breached. An examination of the engine did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or irregularities that would preclude normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6076D](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6076D), registered now, S/N 22-4730, built 1956 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-22-150 - Registry model: [Piper PA-22-150](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-22-150) (registry code 7102210) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 22-4730 - Year built: 1956 - Airframe hours: 3841 - Engines: Lycoming O-320 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, February 10, 2022, 11 hours before - Departed: 1B1, Hudson, NY - Destination: Same as departure - Airport: GBR, Walter J Koladza, runway 11/29, 2,579 × 50 ft, asphalt - Equipment: ADS-B ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 57; injuries: none; student; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 11 total, 11 in this make and model, 2 in the last 24 hours - Flight instructor; age 57; injuries: none; commercial, airline transport, flight instructor; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; seat: right; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 15,000 total, 70 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 260° at 14 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 75 °F, dew point 61 °F - Altimeter: 30.02 inHg - Observed at: PSF, 15 nm away - METAR: KPSF 181554Z AUTO 26014KT 10SM FEW047 24/16 A3002 RMK AO2 SLP147 T02390161 ## 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 20220918016279A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20220918016279A), Sep 18, 2022: Piper PA-22-150, Great Barringto, MA, Substantial damage. Arrived on scene on 9/18/22. Interviewed pilots: pilot in training (the owner of the aircraft – this individual does not yet have a student pilot certificate)… ## Docket (6 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 31, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105961. 15.7 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 12 pages, 11.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14847182&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Pilots%206120%20Accident%20Report_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Flight instructor statement (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 27 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16588973&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Instructors%20Statement_Redacted-Rel.pdf - FAA inspectors statement (item 3, PDF, 1 page, 116 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16312806&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=FAA%20Inspector%20Statement_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Pilot operating handbook excerpt - fuel consumption (item 4, PDF, 1 page, 72 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16314150&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=TriPacer%20Fuel%20Consumption-Rel.pdf - Maintenance records excerpt (item 5, PDF, 3 pages, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14846561&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Maintenance%20Records%20Excerpt_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigative photographs (item 6, PDF, 5 pages, 2.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14847059&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Accident%20Site%20and%20Damage%20Photographs_N6076D-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.