Piper PA 12 N2370M
1 February 2015 · Palmer, Alaska, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 1 February 2015 at about 05:40 local time, a Piper PA 12 registered N2370M was involved in an accident near Palmer, Alaska, United States. One person was 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 05:40
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Palmer, Alaska, United States
- Coordinates
- 61.5828, -149.0872
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 12
- Registration
- N2370M
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1946
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Wasilla → Palmer
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Night
- NTSB number
- ANC15LA010
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The student pilot’s improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inadvertent switching of the fuel selector to the “off” position during the attempted engine restart.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The student pilot reported that he was practicing night, solo takeoffs and landings when the engine lost power. He attempted to restart the engine by applying carburetor heat and switching the fuel selector from the left tank to the right tank, but the engine did not regain power. He did not think that the airplane could reach the runway, so he chose to conduct a forced landing in a golf course adjacent to the airport. During the final approach, the landing gear contacted a power line, and the airplane subsequently impacted terrain. The student pilot further reported that he believed that he inadvertently switched the fuel selector to the "off" position instead of the "right tank" position after the power loss. Examination of the airplane's fuel tanks after the accident revealed that the left wing fuel tank was empty.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-12 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Jan 2015 | Piper PA 12 | Ridgefield, Washington, United States | Nicolai Jane G | No injuries | - |
| 19 Mar 2015 | Piper PA 12 | Midland, Texas, United States | Watson JAY C | Minor injuries | - |
| 14 Jul 2015 | Piper PA 12 | Buhl, Idaho, United States | Reese IRA C | No injuries | - |
| 24 Sep 2014 | Piper PA 12 | Holy Cross, Alaska, United States | Matthew Thoft | No injuries | - |
| 2 Jul 2014 | Piper PA 12 | Anchorage, Alaska, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 11 May 2016 | Piper PA 12 | Simsbury, Connecticut, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Jun 2015 | De Havilland DHC-3T | Skwentna, Alaska, United States | Alaska Air Taxi LLC | No injuries | - |
| 31 Jan 2015 | Piper PA 18 | Wasilla, Alaska, United States | STATE OF ALASKA / Alaska State Troopers | Serious injuries | - |
| 14 Apr 2015 | Cessna 180 | Whittier, Alaska, United States | Dale A. Carlson | Fatal | 1 |
| 21 Dec 2015 | Piper PA 18A | Girdwood, Alaska, United States | Okonek Kellie L | No injuries | - |
| 6 Jun 2015 | Maule M 7-235B | Talkeetna, Alaska, United States | Kaylor Ronald N | No injuries | - |
| 20 Jul 2015 | Cessna 150G | Mekoryuk, Alaska, United States | Harvey Paul B | No injuries | - |