Piper PA-38-112 N4307E

Summary

On 27 August 2002 at about 16:10 local time, a Piper PA-38-112 registered N4307E, operated by Fairfield County Airport Authority, was involved in an accident near Athens, Ohio, United States. One person was 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

27 August 2002 at 16:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Athens, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Fairfield County Airport (LHQ)

Coordinates

39.2917, -82.0383

Aircraft

Piper PA-38-112

Registration

N4307E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Fairfield County Airport Authority

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Parkersburg → Lancaster

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC02LA176

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's improper fuel management, which resulted in fuel starvation during cruise flight. A factor was the operator's failure to perform maintenance on a fuel gauge that was noted twice in a discrepancy log.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the return leg of the student pilot's cross-country flight, the engine lost all power, and the student pilot performed a forced landing to trees. Examination of the wreckage by an FAA inspector revealed that the left fuel tank was full, but the right fuel tank contained about 1 gallon of fuel. Prior to the student renting the airplane, it was completely fueled, then flown 1.1 hours. A flight instructor met with the student pilot prior to her flight, and told her to fly out on the right tank, and fly back on the left. However, the student pilot thought she had 12 gallons of fuel in the right tank, and flew the entire cross-country flight with the fuel selector positioned to the right tank. After the power loss, the student pilot did not switch fuel tanks. The right fuel tank had indicated mid-range, and she believed that sufficient fuel remained in the right tank. Review of a discrepancies form revealed that during the 2 months prior to the accident, the right fuel tank gauge was entered twice, but the operator took no corrective action.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.