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Fuel exhaustion brings down Cherokee

By NTSB · April 14, 2013 ·

Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: None. Location: San Angelo, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: The pilot was on the second leg of a cross-country flight when the engine lost power.

He performed a forced landing in a field.

According to the FAA inspector who examined the airplane, the left fuel tank had 17 gallons of fuel and the right tank was empty.

The inspector confirmed that there were no mechanical anomalies or failures with the airplane, engine, or related systems prior to the accident.

Probable cause: The pilot’s improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

NTSB Identification: CEN11CA376

This April 2011 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

About NTSB

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant events in the other modes of transportation, including railroad, transit, highway, marine, pipeline, and commercial space. It determines the probable causes of accidents and issues safety recommendations aimed at preventing future occurrences.

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Comments

  1. John cavanagh says

    April 16, 2013 at 5:35 pm

    I owned a cherokee six,it has 4 separate tanks,it’s possible to have have switching lever in between tanks,you can’t select ‘all’ tanks.

  2. David Gaeddert says

    April 16, 2013 at 6:09 am

    Further, “electric fuel pump on, switch tanks” is part of engine out training. Was mental/pharmacological state of accident pilot checked?

    • RudyH says

      April 16, 2013 at 8:30 am

      Won’t happen until personal injury or post-mortem…..is why so many of these neglectful type incidents perpetuate….

  3. David Gaeddert says

    April 16, 2013 at 6:04 am

    This student pilot has a few hours in a Piper Cherokee, PA-28. 17 gallons is “up to the tab”, an indication in a tank with 24 gal. useful. Due to low wing config, we need a fuel pump to lift fuel to engine, can only draw from one tank at a time. High wing Cessnas can use gravity feed, both tanks at once. Preflight check, and switching tanks every hour is SOP. Cherokee is heavy enough an inattentive person could miss the out of trim of 17 gal. on one side, 0 gal on the other. Procedures, checklists, just plain pay attention.

  4. larry maynard says

    April 15, 2013 at 11:55 am

    I don’t know anything about Cherokees either. But wouldn’t you think that he would notice that one side is heavier and the aircraft needs trim/and or a switch to the other tank? I set the timer on my RV8A for thirty minutes per side. It only burns about 7.5 gallons an hour in hot weather. You can definitely tell it needs to be trimmed and/or tanks switched after a half an hour. This is one of those preventable accidents that just leaves you shaking your head in wonderment.

  5. Buford Suffridge says

    April 15, 2013 at 9:05 am

    I don’t know anything about a Cherokee, but how about just leaving both tanks on as I do with my 182? One of the first items on the pre-flight check list is, “both tanks on.”

  6. Edward Dolejsi says

    April 15, 2013 at 8:31 am

    Hmmmm? Could a $2 kitchen timer from a Dolar Store, set to 20 minutes count-down intervals, and stuck somewhere on the pannel, save the day?

  7. John says

    April 15, 2013 at 7:32 am

    Why cant plane builders put a simple alarm,to announce the plane is low on fuel,switch tanks.
    How easy would that be,simple….cuz people are. Stupid!!

  8. Randy Coller says

    April 15, 2013 at 7:20 am

    Every one of these stupid fuel accidents costs the rest of us in increased insurance rates. The shame alone in running out of fuel or being too stupid to get it to the engine should be enough to keep anyone from running out of fuel.

  9. Otto Keesling says

    April 14, 2013 at 8:00 am

    What a shame. It is called a checklist.

    • RudyH says

      April 15, 2013 at 7:33 am

      Yeh, another easy invest., non use of enroute checklists……

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