Piper PA-28-235 N9420W

Summary

On 2 March 1997 at about 20:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-235 registered N9420W was involved in an accident near West Chicago, Illinois, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 March 1997 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

West Chicago, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Dupage (DPA)

Coordinates

41.8798, -88.2190

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-235

Registration

N9420W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI97LA076

2 people had minor injuries.

fuel starvation due to the pilot's improper fuel tank selection.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During climbout after a touch-and-go, the airplane sustained a total loss of engine power. The airplane was landed in the grass on the airport property. No engine discrepancies were found during examination of the engine. The right main fuel tank was selected and contained approximately five quarts of fuel. The aircraft's owners manual listed the unusable fuel for all our fuel tanks on the airplane, at one pint each. The right main fuel tank gauge functioned normally following the accident, and no leaks were found in the right main fuel tank. The carburetor's fuel bowl was not compromised in the accident, and was nearly empty. The one fluid ounce of fluid removed from the carburetor fuel bowl, was one third water and two thirds gasoline.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.