LAX07LA180

The pilot was on a cross-country flight when the engine lost power and he initiated a forced landing to a paved road. The right wing impacted a road sign during the landing roll. The pilot was able to restart the engine after the accident and taxied the airplane off of the road. Further examination of the engine after it was recovered was inconclusive as to the cause of the power loss.

On May 23, 2007, about 1530 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-24-250, N146P, experienced a loss of engine power and made a forced landing on Meteor Crater Road near Winslow, Arizona. G & B Investment Management operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The pilot and a passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight that departed Skypark Airport (BTF), Bountiful, Utah, about 1000. The flight was destined for San Antonio, Texas. A visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed, but not activated.

According to the pilot he had stopped in Cortez, Colorado, to refuel the airplane; with no problems encountered. The next refueling stop was to be in Artesia, New Mexico; however, he decided to refuel in Boulder City, Nevada, due to rerouting for weather considerations. He closed the VFR flight plan in Boulder City. Prior to leaving Boulder City, he tried to open the VFR flight plan for the remainder of the flight, but had a difficult time. He took off from Boulder City, and continued his attempt to open his VFR flight plan to no avail. The pilot stated that they "picked up weather" from Flagstaff, Arizona, which indicated strong headwinds. He decided to make a refueling stop at Winslow-Lindbergh Regional Airport (INW), Winslow.

While in the vicinity of INW, the pilot reported that the airplane's engine began to sputter. He leaned the mixture to see if that would correct the problem, and when it did not, he enriched the mixture. That also had no effect on the engine. He noted that the oil temperature and oil pressure gauges were normal, as well as the fuel flow gauge. He switched the fuel pump on and switched fuel tanks. At that point, the pilot indicated that the engine quit and he was not able to restart it. He made a forced landing on the road and both wings contacted reflector signs.

The pilot indicated that there was about 15 gallons of fuel remaining in each fuel tank, which equates to about 1/2 tank of fuel for each tank. He also reported that a 100-hour inspection had been completed on the airplane the day he departed on the accident flight.

Prior to the recovery of the airplane, the pilot was able to start the engine and taxied down the highway and parked it in a parking lot. The pilot did not make any repairs to the airplane prior to starting the engine.

Inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) examined the airplane at Air Transport, Phoenix, Arizona, on May 31, 2008.

The only discrepancy noted was that the fuel bladder in the left tank had all but one of the retention snaps detached. No other abnormalities were found that would have prevented normal operations.