According to the pilot, before adding fuel to the Piper PA22, both fuel gauges read ¼ tank. He added about 7.5 gallons to each tank, for an additional 15 gallons of fuel.
He then departed Wadsworth Municipal Airport (3G3) in Ohio, en route to Cincinnati Municipal Airport-Lunken Field (KLUK).
About an hour and half after departure, the engine lost power, had a momentary gain of power, and then lost power again.
The pilot selected a road near Loveland, Ohio, for a forced landing. During the landing, the airplane hit several mailboxes and a light pole before coming to stop in a residential yard.
The pilot reported that he typically switches fuel tanks every 10 to 15 minutes, but did not recall if he did it on this flight. He also did not switch fuel tanks after the initial loss of engine power.
Examination of the airplane found substantial damage to the left wing, damage to the right horizontal stabilizer and elevator, and right-side engine cowling. The fuel selector was in the off position. The right-wing fuel tank was drained and about 5.5 gallons of fuel was recovered. The left-wing fuel tank did not contain any useable fuel.
The left fuel gauge read about ¼ and the right fuel gauge read zero. The examination did not confirm the accuracy of the gauges or if the wires were swapped from the left and right fuel tanks.
During the examination, fuel was added to right wing fuel tank, and the engine started. The engine was operated from idle to a high power setting with no abnormalities noted.
The pilot reported on the NTSB Form 6120.1 that he thought the reason for the engine failure was due to fuel exhaustion.
Probable Cause: The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
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This July 2020 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.
I would think if one has to keep adding trim during flight to maintain level flight. There’s a problem. My practice is switching tanks every 30 minutes.. That is about 4 gallons except for the climb phase which is a little more depending upon how high one climbs.. Descending, switch to is the fullest tank.
There’s some kind of problem that pilots are not getting the proper training or the new or old ones just shouldn’t be flying an airplane. To much of this situation that happens over and over again and again!! One has to stay on top of the airplane at all times! It’s sad to keep seeing things like this.
More checklists, seminars, safety programs, more automation….or you just can’t reinvent the wheel?..lol