Piper PA-22-150 N4850A

Summary

On 20 August 2010 at about 19:30 local time, a Piper PA-22-150 registered N4850A was involved in an accident near Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, 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

20 August 2010 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Skyhaven Airport (76N)

Coordinates

41.5264, -75.9397

Aircraft

Piper PA-22-150

Registration

N4850A

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tunkhannock → Tunkhannock

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10LA439

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power during the initial climb due to the pilots' inadequate in-flight fuel management.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The certified flight instructor (CFI) and private pilot departed on a local instructional flight with approximately 18 gallons of fuel on board. The CFI reported that the fuel valve had been selected to the right fuel tank for takeoff. On the fourth takeoff, when the airplane was about 50 feet above ground level, the engine lost all power. The CFI then switched the fuel selector valve to the left fuel tank and the engine restarted; however, the airplane impacted a tree, landed in the river, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the left wing spar and lower portion of the firewall sustained substantial damage. Compression was confirmed on all engine cylinders, fuel was found in the carburetor, and the fuel screens were free of debris. According to the engine’s manufacturer, up to 14 gallons per hour of fuel could be consumed at full power. The airplane’s right fuel quantity gauge was placarded with “No take-off on right tank with less than 1/3 tank." It is likely that the right fuel tank was less than one-third full and on the initial climb the engine was starved of fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.