- Date
- March 4, 2018, 13:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Camas, WA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3756WPiper PA32
- Defining event
- Enroute: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 5, 2018
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20180304013739A
- Case key
- 96942
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 inadequate inflight fuel management and his failure to switch to a fuel tank with adequate fuel, which resulted in fuel starvation.
Findings · 6
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
The pilot reported that, before departure, he estimated that the right tip fuel tank was three-quarters full (about 14 gallons), and each main fuel tank had about 20 gallons of fuel. The pilot reported that, during cruise, he decided to use the right tip fuel tank, even though he was aware that the right tip fuel tank gauge was inoperative. He added that, after about 25-30 minutes, he performed various stall maneuvers before returning to the departure airport to land. The pilot noticed a reduction in engine power and a drop in the manifold pressure and concluded that the airplane would not be able to return to the airport, so he continued a left turn toward a farm field. The pilot began to troubleshoot for carburetor ice to no avail. The airplane landed in the farm field and impacted a ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mounts. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot added that, during a postaccident examination, it was revealed that the right tip fuel tank was dry and "that the engine lost power due to fuel starvation."
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that, prior to departure, he estimated that the right tip fuel tank was three-quarters full, about 14 gallons, and each main fuel tank had about 20 gallons of fuel. The pilot reported that, during cruise, he decided to use the right tip fuel tank, even though he was aware that the right tip fuel tank gauge was inoperative. He added that, after about 25-30 minutes, he performed various stall maneuvers before returning to the departure airport to land. The pilot noticed a reduction in engine power, a drop in the manifold pressure, and concluded that the airplane would not be able to return to the airport, so he continued a left-hand turn towards a farm field. The pilot began to troubleshoot for carburetor ice, but to no avail. The airplane landed in the farm field and impacted a ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mounts. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot added that, during a postaccident examination, it was revealed that the right tip fuel tank was dry and "that the engine lost power due to fuel starvation."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3756W
- Reported as
- Piper PA32 (260)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-671
- Built
- 1966
- Airframe hours
- 3,731.4
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540 SERIES, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 7, 2017
- Departed
- SLE · Salem, OR
- Destination
- 1W1 · Camas, WA
- Airport
- 1W1 · Grove Field
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, Handheld GPS, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, Stall warning system
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
- 36
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Military, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 30, 2017
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 1,978 total · 89.8 in this make and model · 1,900 as pilot in command · 35 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days · 1.5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.23 inHg
- Observed at
- KPDX, 4 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 21, 2018, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.3 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.