Piper PA28 N2250S

Summary

On 8 October 2018 at about 18:00 local time, a Piper PA28 registered N2250S, operated by Mach 5 Aviation, was involved in an accident near Grass Valley, California, 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.

Date

8 October 2018 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Grass Valley, California, United States

Nearest airport

Nevada County (GOO)

Coordinates

39.2372, -121.1111

Aircraft

Piper PA28

Registration

N2250S

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Mach 5 Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Red Bluff → Grass Valley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR19LA003

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation and the pilot's mismanagement of the available fuel.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident flight was the student pilot’s first solo cross-country flight; the intended route of flight included stops at five airports along the route. Prior to departure, the pilot confirmed the left fuel tank was full, and the right fuel tank contained about 17 gallons. The airplane was not refueled during the cross-country flight. The pilot stated she flew with the left fuel tank selected until the final leg of the trip. She report that, after departure from the last airport, she switched to the right fuel tank. When the airplane was about 5 miles from Grass Valley Airport (GOO), at an altitude of about 5,000 ft above ground level (agl), the engine started to sputter. The pilot attempted, unsuccessfully, to restart the engine and she contacted the air traffic control tower at GOO to report an engine failure. She was cleared to land; however, the airplane was at an altitude of 3,200 feet agl and continuing to lose altitude. When she realized the airplane would not make it to the airport, she performed a forced landing to an open field. During the landing, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the right wing was damaged. After the accident, 17 gallons of fuel were removed from the right-wing fuel tank and the left-wing fuel tank was empty. Because the amount of fuel in the right fuel tank after the accident was the same as before takeoff and the pilot stated she flew most of the flight with the left fuel tank selected, it is likely that, despite her report of switching to the right fuel tank, the left tank remained selected, and its fuel supply was exhausted. Other than the absence of fuel, no anomalies were noted with the engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.