Piper PA 24-250 N6570P
18 January 2014 · San Jose, California, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 18 January 2014 at about 00:39 local time, a Piper PA 24-250 registered N6570P was involved in an accident near San Jose, California, United States. 3 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.
The record
- Date
- at 00:39
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- San Jose, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Reid-Hillview of Santa Clara C (RHV)
- Coordinates
- 37.3364, -121.8217
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 24-250
- Registration
- N6570P
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1960
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- San Jose → Sonoma
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- WPR14LA099
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to sump the fuel tanks, which resulted in water contamination, a partial loss of engine power during takeoff, and collision with a taxiing airplane during the subsequent forced landing.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
This was the first flight for the Piper airplane in the last 3 months, during which time, it was parked on a ramp outside in the winter. The pilot reported that he performed a preflight inspection but that he did not sump the fuel system. The airplane's main fuel tanks were full with fuel, and the fuel selector valves were set to the main fuel tanks. Shortly after takeoff at an altitude of about 300 to 400 feet above ground level, the engine began to "sputter" with a corresponding partial loss of power. The pilot cycled the throttle control with no change in engine power and then turned back toward the airport. The airplane did not have sufficient altitude to reach a runway, so the pilot performed a gear-up landing onto a taxiway. After landing, the airplane slid across the taxiway surface and struck a taxiing Cessna airplane; both airplanes sustained substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation, and it started and ran smoothly during a subsequent test run. Given the pilot's failure to sump the fuel system and the fact that the engine did not experience a total loss of engine power, it is likely that the fuel system became contaminated with water while the airplane sat on the ramp for the preceding 3 months.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Aircraft involved
| Aircraft | Registration | Operator | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piper PA 24-250 | N6570P | - | Substantial |
| Cessna 172N | N737CL | Nice Air | Substantial |
Other Piper PA-24 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 May 2014 | Piper PA 24-250 | New Braunfels, Texas, United States | Anderson Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 21 Nov 2014 | Piper PA 24-250 | Garberville, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 10 Aug 2014 | Piper PA-24-250 | Big Lake, Alaska, United States | Christopher Cyphers | Fatal | 1 |
| 28 Nov 2014 | Piper PA 24-250 | Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 28 Sep 2014 | Piper PA 24-250 | Rancho Murieta, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 3 Jul 2014 | Piper PA 24-250 | Monroeville, Alabama, United States | Vance Alexander | Minor injuries | - |
All 2,700 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Oct 2014 | Scaled Composites 339 | Koehn Dry Lake, California, United States | Scaled Composites LLC | Fatal | 1 |
| 7 Jun 2014 | Cessna 180H | Hesperia, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 5 Sep 2014 | Eurocopter AS 350 B3 | Lincoln, California, United States | California Highway Patrol | No injuries | - |
| 27 Apr 2014 | McDonnell Douglas 600N | Adelanto, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 13 Jun 2014 | Air Tractor AT 502B | Princeton, California, United States | Michaud Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 27 Apr 2014 | Cessna 210E | Richmond, California, United States | Sanders Aircraft Inc | Fatal | 1 |