- Date
- December 12, 1999, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Wales, ME
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N5279ZPiper PA-22-108
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 2, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19991212043739A
- Case key
- 47894
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
Fuel exhaustion due to a blocked fuel feed line.
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
During the initial climb after takeoff, the airplane's engine sputtered, and then lost total power. The pilot initiated a right turn and performed a forced landing to a field. After the accident, 5 gallons of fuel was drained from the left fuel tank, and 7 gallons of fuel was drained from the right fuel tank. Examination of the airplane's fuel system revealed a total blockage in the left fuel tank's aft feed line in the vicinity a bend near the fuel tank connection. According to the FAA Inspector's report, '...the bend in the line was clogged with what appeared to be hard packed sand....' There were no other pre-impact discrepancies noted. The pilot said he had selected the left fuel tank for the takeoff, as per the Airplane's Operating Handbook. Additionally, the pilot stated that the airplane had been flown for about 15 to 20 hours since it's most recent annual inspection, which was performed about 2 months before the accident. For about 6 weeks prior to the annual inspection, the airplane was parked in a 'T-Hangar' with both wings removed.
Factual narrative
On December 12, 1999, about 1530 Eastern Standard Time, a Piper PA-22-108, N5279Z, was substantially damaged during a forced landing, after it lost engine power during the initial climb after takeoff from the Wales Airport, Wales, Maine. The certificated commercial pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight destined for the Twitchell Airport, Turner, Maine. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The airplane departed Runway 04, a 2,100 foot long, 80 foot wide turf runway.
According to the pilot, when the airplane reached about 200 feet above the ground, the airplane's engine sputtered, and then lost total power. The pilot initiated a right turn and performed a forced landing to a field.
During the landing the airplane contacted the top of a knoll and nosed over.
Examination of the wreckage was conducted by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector. After the accident, 5 gallons of fuel was drained from the left fuel tank, and 7 gallons of fuel was drained from the right fuel tank. Examination of the airplane's fuel system revealed a total blockage in the left fuel tank's aft feed line in the vicinity a bend near the fuel tank connection. According to the FAA Inspector's report, "...the bend in the line was clogged with what appeared to be hard packed sand...." There were no other pre-impact discrepancies noted.
In a follow-up interview, the pilot said he had selected the left fuel tank for the takeoff, as per the Airplane's Operating Handbook. Additionally, the pilot stated that the airplane had been flown for about 15 to 20 hours since it's most recent annual inspection, which was performed on October 22, 1999. For about 6 weeks prior to the annual inspection, the airplane was parked in a "T-Hangar" with both wings removed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5279Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22-108
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-8974
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James S. Elder
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 22, 1999 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- ME6
- Destination
- 3B5 · Turner, ME
- Airport
- ME6 · Wales, runway 4, 2,100 × 80 ft, grass/turf
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
- 58
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,234 total · 92 in this make and model · 1,189 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LEW, 16 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.