Piper PA22 N5044Z

Summary

On 5 June 2020 at about 23:00 local time, a Piper PA22 registered N5044Z was involved in an accident near Olean, New York, 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

5 June 2020 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Olean, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Cattaraugus County-Olean (OLE)

Coordinates

42.2486, -78.3653

Aircraft

Piper PA22

Registration

N5044Z

Category

Airplane

Year built

1961

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Arcade → Olean

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20CA211

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported he had planned a 17 nautical mile trip to fuel the airplane. He estimated the right wing fuel tank was 1/4 to 3/8 full, which he believed was sufficient for the flight, and that the left tank contained about 1 gallon of fuel. While on approach, he moved the fuel selector to the left tank for landing. He stated the engine ran “poorly”, so he switched back to the right tank, and the engine “started back up and quit 3 times.” He prepared for an off-field landing, during which the airplane stuck trees inside the airport perimeter fence, short of the runway. Following the accident, the pilot advised a Federal Aviation Administration inspector that the airplane had not undergone an annual inspection for 2 to 3 years. At the time he was interviewed by the inspector, he did not have his pilot or maintenance records for the airplane available. The pilot did not submit a National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report Form 6120.1. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector performed a cursory examination of the wreckage after the accident, after it had been recovered from the accident site to a hangar. The amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tanks after the accident was not measured. The inspector confirmed that both wings and the fuselage were substantially damaged. The quantity of fuel onboard the airplane was not quantified nor were the airframe or engine examined in any greater detail.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.