Piper PA28 N951TS

Summary

On 3 August 2019 at about 14:15 local time, a Piper PA28 registered N951TS was involved in an accident near Jacksonville, Florida, 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

3 August 2019 at 14:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Jacksonville, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Jacksonville Executive At Crai (CRG)

Coordinates

30.3689, -81.5214

Aircraft

Piper PA28

Registration

N951TS

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Jacksonville → Jacksonville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19LA257

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to select a fuel tank with adequate fuel, which resulted in fuel starvation 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

After the pilot completed two touch-and-go landings, the airplane was climbing when the engine lost total power. He advanced the throttle full forward, but the engine did not respond. The pilot did not attempt to troubleshoot the loss of power and did not check the fuel selector valve position. The pilot flew the airplane under power lines and executed a forced landing in the marsh during which the airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage and ailerons. The pilot stated that before takeoff, the left and right main fuel tanks contained 15 and 13 gallons, respectively, and the wing tip fuel tanks contained minimal fuel. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel selector value was positioned to the left tip tank; the tank was not breached during the accident and contained about 10 ounces of fuel. Based on the evidence, it is likely that the pilot did not verify the fuel selector position and had the left tip tank selected, which did not contain enough usable fuel. Thus, the engine experienced a total loss of power due to fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.