Piper PA22 N4816A

Summary

On 18 July 2020 at about 21:30 local time, a Piper PA22 registered N4816A was involved in an accident near Loveland, Ohio, 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

18 July 2020 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Loveland, Ohio, United States

Coordinates

39.2675, -84.2658

Aircraft

Piper PA22

Registration

N4816A

Category

Airplane

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wadsworth → Lunken

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20LA290

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Before the pilot's departure on a cross-country flight, he added 7.5 gallons of fuel to each wing fuel tank.  The pilot reported that before adding fuel, both fuel gauges read ¼ tank. About an hour and half after departure, the engine lost power, had a momentary gain of power, and then lost power again. The pilot selected a road for a forced landing. During the landing, the airplane impacted several mailboxes and a light pole before coming to stop in a residential yard Examination of the airplane found substantial damage to the left wing, damage to the right horizontal stabilizer and elevator, and right-side engine cowling. The right-wing fuel tank was then drained and about 5.5 gallons of fuel was recovered, the left-wing fuel tank did not contain any useable fuel.   The left fuel gauge read about ¼ and the right fuel gauge read zero. The examination did not confirm the accuracy of the gauges or if the wires were swapped from the left and right fuel tanks.  Fuel was added to right wing fuel tank, and the engine started. The engine was operated from idle, to a high power setting, with no abnormalities noted. The pilot reported on the NTSB Form 6120.1, that he thought the reason for the engine failure was due to fuel exhaustion. With fuel remaining in the right-wing fuel tank, the loss of engine power is consistent with fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.