Piper PA-24-260 N8775P

Summary

On 23 August 2009 at about 17:35 local time, a Piper PA-24-260 registered N8775P, operated by Kris S Michel, was involved in an accident near Santa Barbara, California, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 August 2009 at 17:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Barbara, California, United States

Nearest airport

Santa Barbara (SBA)

Coordinates

34.4333, -119.7967

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-260

Registration

N8775P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Kris S Michel

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Murietta → Santa Barbara

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09LA412

Nobody was injured.

A loss of power during approach due to fuel exhaustion for undetermined reasons

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he departed with an estimated 32 gallons total (28 usable) of fuel on board for the 148-nautical-mile flight. He thought that the flight would take about 1.1 hours, which would leave a 1-hour fuel reserve. The left main tank was selected for takeoff, climb, and initial cruise. About 57 miles from his destination, the pilot switched from the left main fuel tank to the right main fuel tank, and he noted that the fuel flow gauge indicated a fuel burn of 12.5 gallons per hour. He said that when he was on approach and about 5 miles from his destination, the engine began to run rough and lose power. He turned the fuel boost pump on and switched back to the left main tank; however, he was unable to restore full engine power. He declared an emergency and prepared to make an off-airport forced landing. Because of terrain and other considerations, he landed on the southbound lanes of a freeway. Immediately after touchdown, an automobile struck the left wing, and two other automobiles struck the airplane before it came to a rest on the freeway. During the recovery, there was no evidence of fuel in the airplane, including the 4 gallons of unusable fuel that should have been in the tank. The pilot opined that the fuel vented from the airplane due to a mechanical problem. During a postaccident engine examination, there was no visible fuel found in any of the engine fuel system components, and there was no fuel staining observed at any of the engine compartment fuel system line fittings or components. At the conclusion of the examination, no anomalies were found that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the airframe revealed that the left wing main fuel tank filler cap was loose in the filler hole when latched; it could easily be rotated. There were no stains on the top or bottoms of the wings in the fuel vent areas or around any of the main or auxiliary filler caps. There were dark blue stains on the inside of the fuel drain access door, but not on the outside.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.