Piper PA-16 N5280H

Summary

On 19 August 2006 at about 18:15 local time, a Piper PA-16 registered N5280H was involved in an accident near Chugiak, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 August 2006 at 18:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Chugiak, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

61.4244, -149.4078

Aircraft

Piper PA-16

Registration

N5280H

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mirror Lake → Katie Lake

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC06LA118

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to properly preflight the airplane and remove all water from the fuel system, which resulted in a loss of engine power during takeoff/initial climb, and subsequent loss of control. Factors associated with the accident are the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed to preclude a stall, and the inadvertent stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private certificated pilot was on a visual flight rules, personal cross-country flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the float-equipped airplane lost engine power during initial climb after takeoff. The pilot made a 180 degree turn toward the departure lake, but the airplane stalled and impacted trees. The pilot said he had moored the airplane for a week in the rain with the fuel tanks three-quarters empty. The morning of the accident, he fueled both tanks with a mixture of aviation and auto fuel. He said the preflight and engine run-up were normal, and that he used carburetor heat when the engine was idling, but not during step-taxi or takeoff. He said as the airplane climbed over trees along the shore, the engine backfired twice, and quit completely. At the site, the NTSB investigator found 5-6 pieces of "chopped" wood, each piece was about 18 inches long, about 2 inches in diameter, and appeared to have been cut by the airplane's propeller sometime during the uncontrolled descent. The engine was not accessible, and was not examined. The airplane was disassembled by agents for the pilot and stored. The pilot reported that with the airplane on floats, the wings were in a more level attitude than when sitting on the tailwheel, and any water in the tanks was more likely to move away from the sumps. He added that his practice of standing on the front of the floats while taking the fuel samples probably moved any contaminants further from the sumps. The pilot reported that in his opinion, the loss of power was due to water contamination of the fuel as a result of leaving the tanks three-quarters empty during a rainy period, in conjunction with a flawed sumping procedure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.