Piper PA-24-250 N6960P

Summary

On 14 March 2003 at about 14:30 local time, a Piper PA-24-250 registered N6960P was involved in an accident near Belen, New Mexico, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 March 2003 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Belen, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Alexander Municipal (E80)

Coordinates

34.6453, -106.8336

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-250

Registration

N6960P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tucson → Fergus Falls

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN03LA049

1 person was seriously injured.

the pilot's improper preflight/in-flight decision making which resulted in the loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing factors include, the partial fuel selector valve failure, the pilot's intentional operation with known deficiencies in equipment and the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he purchased the airplane on March 11, 2003, and was aware of recent maintenance on the fuel selector valve. He examined the airplane and departed on a cross-country flight back to his home base. He stated that, approximately 2 hours into the flight, the engine "quit," and that he had experienced fuel exhaustion. He switched the fuel selector valve to the left wing-tip fuel tank, restarted the engine and landed at the nearest airport. Upon landing, he examined the fuel tanks and found that the right main and right wing-tip fuel tanks were full, the left wing-tip fuel tank was half full and the left main fuel tank was "dry." He refueled the airplane and departed. During the next 2 hours of flying, he switched the fuel selector valve from the left and right wing-tip tanks, to the main tanks and at approximately 2 hours into the flight the engine "quit" a second time. He was able to restart the engine after switching back to the left wing-tip tank, landed at the nearest airport to refuel and then departed to his destination. On March 14, the day of the accident, he departed on a cross-country flight. During the second hour of flight, he switched the fuel selector valve from the main tanks to the left wing-tip tank, then to the right wing-tip tank and then back to the main tanks in 20-min intervals. Approximately 2 hours into the flight, the engine "sputtered and then stopped." He restarted the engine, but it only ran for a few seconds. He attempted to glide to the nearby Alexander Municipal Airport, but was forced to land approximately 250 feet short of runway 21. The impact resulted in substantial damage to both wings, the firewall, and the separation of all landing gear assemblies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.