Piper PA-24-180 N7635P

Summary

On 20 August 1996 at about 22:40 local time, a Piper PA-24-180 registered N7635P was involved in an accident near Whitefield, New Hampshire, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 August 1996 at 22:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Whitefield, New Hampshire, United States

Nearest airport

Mount Washington Regional (HIE)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-180

Registration

N7635P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD96FA138

4 people died.

the pilot's failure to adequately preflight the aircraft which led to the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, and the pilot's attempt to return to the airport by executing a steep left turn which led to a stall and subsequent loss of control of the aircraft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane collided with the ground after takeoff about 3/4 mile from the end of the runway. Examination of the aircraft fuel system revealed that the fuel selector was in the right tank position. There was no evidence of fuel in the right tank. The left fuel tank bladder was ruptured. There was no evidence of foliage kill resulting from fuel spillage on the site. There was no strong smell of fuel on site. When the aircraft was lifted by a helicopter, an attempt to drain fuel from the main aircraft filter did not reveal any fuel in the filter. After recovery of the aircraft to a field at the Whitefield Airport, a more detailed examination of the of the fuel system revealed a small amount of fuel in the line from the left fuel tank to the fuel selector. There was no fuel in the line from the right tank to the fuel selector. The top skin was removed from the right wing and the fuel tank bladder was removed. There was no fuel in the bladder. There was a small hole near the bottom of the bladder along the inboard end. The surrounding structure was heavily creased in that area. There was no evidence of heavy fuel stains in that area.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.