Piper PA-18-150 N4013E

Summary

On 7 February 2002 at about 23:22 local time, a Piper PA-18-150 registered N4013E was involved in an accident near Houston, Texas, 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

7 February 2002 at 23:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Houston, Texas, United States

Coordinates

29.6681, -95.3944

Aircraft

Piper PA-18-150

Registration

N4013E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pearland → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW02LA078

Nobody was injured.

the loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's failure to switch fuel tanks. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot checked that both tanks were full and the fuel selector was in the right tank position prior to the banner tow flight. After having flown for "almost an hour," the pilot observed the right tank to be between one-half and one-quarter full, and decided it was too early to switch tanks. The pilot subsequently became involved in "the activities of the flight," and never checked the tanks again. At an altitude of 1,000 feet agl and 1.9 hours into the flight, the engine lost power. Two attempts to restart the engine proved unsuccessful, and a forced landing to an open area was initiated. The airplane hit the ground, bounced once, and flipped over, coming to rest inverted. The banner was not released during the forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.