Piper PA-22 N9040D

Summary

On 7 March 2000 at about 23:58 local time, a Piper PA-22 registered N9040D was involved in an accident near Conesus, New York, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 March 2000 at 23:58

Classification

Accident

Location

Conesus, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Private Airstrip (NONE)

Coordinates

42.7105, -77.6597

Aircraft

Piper PA-22

Registration

N9040D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Dansville

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

NYC00LA088

1 person was seriously injured.

The contamination of the aircraft's fuel. Contributing factors were the pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude and his diversion of attention during the base turn, dark night conditions, and the tree.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was repositioning the airplane from his private airstrip, to an airport about 10 nautical miles to the south, at night. The pilot had flown 1.3 daytime hours in the previous 90 days, all on the day before the accident; however, the accident airplane had not been flown in 6 months. The airplane's left wing was refueled with 8-10 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel. The airplane was preflighted, and fuel samples were taken from both tanks, the strainer, and both wings. No water or sediments were observed. The pilot completed an engine run-up, then took off. During the climb, about 400 feet above the ground, the engine quit. The pilot switched the fuel selector from the left tank to the right tank. The engine began to produce power again, but not full power. The pilot opted to land at a nearby unlighted airstrip. During the approach, while on base leg, and with the engine still running, the airplane impacted a tree. The pilot stated: 'I was checking the engine gauges and wasn't watching my altitude closely enough.' Post-flight inspection of the airplane revealed no mechanical malfunctions. However, corrosion and severe pitting were found inside the fuel bowl.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.