Piper PA-28-140 N55038

Summary

On 3 September 1998 at about 03:06 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N55038 was involved in an accident near Phoenix, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 September 1998 at 03:06

Classification

Accident

Location

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Deer Valley (DVT)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N55038

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

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX98LA281

Nobody was injured.

Fuel starvation due to the pilot's inadequate in-flight fuel management and his failure to select a tank containing fuel prior to the loss of power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After a local 1-hour night flight the pilot was returning to the airport. At 1,000 feet agl, and 4 1/2 miles from the airport, the airplane experienced a loss of engine power. The pilot switched fuel tanks and went through the emergency checklist but was unable to gain a restart. The pilot landed hard in a landfill area and collided with a dirt bank during the landing roll. The fuel selector was found positioned to the right fuel tank, which had a small amount of fuel in it. About 3 to 4 gallons of fuel was found in a puddle underneath the right wing. The left wing tank had no fuel in it.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.