Piper PA-24-250 N7333P

Summary

On 8 September 2013 at about 19:00 local time, a Piper PA-24-250 registered N7333P, operated by Elms John H JR, was involved in an accident near Woodstock, Connecticut, 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

8 September 2013 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Woodstock, Connecticut, United States

Coordinates

41.5700, -72.0100

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-250

Registration

N7333P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1961

Engines

1

Operator

Elms John H JR

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Southbridge → Danielson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA13LA408

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s improper preflight inspection, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the airplane's digital cockpit fuel gauges indicated that each of the two wing tanks contained about 5 gallons of fuel before departure for the 10- to 15-minute flight. About 4 miles from the destination airport, the engine began to run roughly, and the pilot switched the fuel tank selector from the left wing tank to the right wing tank. The engine continued to run roughly and subsequently experienced a total loss of power. The pilot conducted a forced landing to a cornfield, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. During postaccident examination, the fuel quantity gauges indicated that no fuel remained, and no fuel was observed in either of the wing fuel tanks. Recovery personnel drained a total of 2 gallons of fuel from the airplane before its recovery from the field. An engine test run was performed, and the engine started and ran smoothly and without interruption through all power settings. Despite the pilot's report that a bird strike precipitated the total loss of engine power, no evidence of a bird strike was observed during a postaccident examination of the wreckage. The pilot's operating handbook stated that, at an engine power setting of 75-percent-rated horsepower, the fuel consumption rate was about 14 gallons per hour, or about 0.23 gallon per minute. Given this fuel consumption rate, a 15-minute flight would have consumed about 3.5 gallons, not including the fuel required for engine startup, taxi, and takeoff. The pilot used the digital cockpit fuel gauges as his only indication of the fuel level and did not confirm the displayed quantity either visually or with another fuel measurement device before takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.