Piper PA-28-180 N183DB

Summary

On 3 October 2003 at about 22:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N183DB was involved in an accident near San Rafael, California, United States. One person was 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

3 October 2003 at 22:30

Classification

Accident

Location

San Rafael, California, United States

Nearest airport

Marin Ranch (CA35)

Coordinates

38.0200, -122.5161

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N183DB

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Rafael → Lakeport

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX04LA004

1 person was seriously injured.

a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft collided with the ground short of the runway while attempting a forced landing following a loss of power in the takeoff initial climb. Witnesses reported after the airplane was airborne, the airplane engine started to "sputter" and the airplane turned back towards the airport. As the airplane touched down the wing tip touched the ground and airplane cartwheeled. The pilot said that he aborted his first takeoff after an indication of low fuel pressure. The pilot taxied back and did another run up. He was unable to determine, or duplicate, the fuel pressure abnormality observed during the first takeoff roll and elected to attempt a second takeoff. During the takeoff initial climb the engine started to sputter and lost power. The pilot attempted to turn back towards the runway, but the airplane had insufficient altitude and collided with the ground short of the pavement. The last pilot to fly the accident airplane told investigators that he had refueled the airplane to capacity at a nearby airport located 26 nm northeast of this airport. He stated that when he secured the airplane in his hangar the left fuel tank was 1/3 full, and the right fuel tank was 3/4 full. He said no one had flown the airplane since. During the accident sequence the left wing separated from the fuselage and the outboard 1/3 of the right wing was folded over. The gascolator and left fuel tanks were breeched and no fuel was found. The first responders, including fire and police units, to the accident scene did not see any fuel, nor did they detect the odor of fuel. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector responded to the accident site and examined the wreckage. The inspector was unable to locate any evidence of fuel in the remaining aircraft system components or spillage on the ground. Following recovery from the accident site, a test run of the engine was accomplished while it was still mounted in the airframe. An external fuel source was engineered to deliver fuel directly to the inlet line of the carburetor. The engine was started using the aircraft's own starter switch and engine controls. The engine started and was run up to 1,300 rpm where it was operated for approximately 1 minute, then shut down. Oil pressure during the engine operation was observed to be in the green arc, approximately 60 psi.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.