Piper PA-22-108 N4515Z

Summary

On 3 May 2008 at about 00:00 local time, a Piper PA-22-108 registered N4515Z was involved in an accident near Opelousas, Louisiana, United States. One person was on board and 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

3 May 2008 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Opelousas, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

30.5193, -92.0795

Aircraft

Piper PA-22-108

Registration

N4515Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mc Comb → Opelousas

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW08LA130

1 person had minor injuries.

Loss of engine power due to starvation of the right fuel tank and the inability to select the left fuel tank. Contributing to airplane damage was the hidden obstruction in the field selected for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was maneuvering around weather, destined for his home airport, when the engine lost power due to exhaustion of the right fuel tank. While attempting to change from the right tank to the left tank the fuel selector became impeded by a loose screw on the fuel placard. The pilot attempted to switch tanks several times before committing to a forced landing. The pilot successfully landed the airplane in a wheat field. During the landing roll out, the nose gear contacted a rut resulting in damage to the nose gear and subsequently allowed the airplane to nose over coming to rest in the inverted position.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.