- Date
- April 26, 1992, 12:17 local (19:17 UTC)
- Place
- Vallejo, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N31557Piper PA-32RT-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920426015409A
- Case key
- 27606
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
Was the failure of the fuel servo diaphragm stem which resulted in a fuel interruption to the engine. High obstructions and utility pole in the forced landing area were factors contributing to the accident.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilots were conducting an observation flight over the northeast end of the san francisco bay when the airplane's engine failed. The pilots were unable to restart the engine and turned towards a roadway north of the bay to land. The airplane landed short of the selected landing area and struck a fence and a utility pole. An examination of the fuel injector servo after the accident disclosed that the fuel control diaphragm stem failed interrupting the fuel supply to the engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N31557
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32RT-300 (PA-32RT-30)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32R7885102
- Airframe hours
- 1,918
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Siebert, Edward G.
- Registered owner
- Siebert, Edward G.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 7, 1991 · 78 hours before
- Departed
- LVK · Livermore, CA
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,116 total · 34 in this make and model · 986 as pilot in command · 37 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 15,000 ft overcast
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- APC, 6 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.