Piper PA-28-151 N4596X

Summary

On 26 May 2006 at about 20:38 local time, a Piper PA-28-151 registered N4596X was involved in an accident near Oxnard, California, United States. 3 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

26 May 2006 at 20:38

Classification

Accident

Location

Oxnard, California, United States

Coordinates

34.2006, -119.2006

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-151

Registration

N4596X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Oxnard → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX06LA183

1 person was seriously injured.

The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft collided with a car during a forced landing attempt following a loss of engine power in the traffic pattern. According to controllers in the Air Traffic Control Tower, the pilot reported that the engine quit shortly after takeoff from runway 25 as the airplane was on the upwind leg. The pilot was attempting to turn the airplane back for runway 7 when it touched down in a field and then struck a car traveling south on a city street, about a 1/4-mile west of the airport. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector responded to the accident site. He observed witness marks in an adjacent field that he indicated were tire marks from the landing gear of the airplane. The airplane then traveled in an easterly direction about 350 feet where it impacted and went through a chain link fence, crossed the north bound side of a city street, and collided with a sport utility vehicle (SUV) traveling southbound on the street. Responding firefighters noted fuel leaking out of the left wing tank and found that the right wing tank was full of fuel. Subsequent interviews disclosed that multiple individuals manipulated the fuel selector valve in an attempt to staunch the flow of fuel, and the preimpact position of the fuel selector valve could not be reliably determined. The airframe and engine were subjected to detailed examinations and tests following recovery of the airplane to the airport. No evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure was found that would explain the loss of engine power. The only anomaly was the fuel selector valve handle, which was of a non-standard size and configuration that would allow the valve handle to bypass the safety stop and rotate a full 360 degrees.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.