Piper PA-22 N8095C

Summary

On 13 November 2023 at about 01:15 local time, a Piper PA-22 registered N8095C was involved in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 November 2023 at 01:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Lake Hood (PALH)

Coordinates

61.1830, -149.9616

Aircraft

Piper PA-22

Registration

N8095C

Category

Airplane

Year built

1954

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

ANC24LA004

1 person had minor injuries.

The loss of engine power during final approach due to fuel exhaustion, which resulted from the pilot’s inadequate preflight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he intended to conduct a short flight to run the engine to avoid a prolonged period between flights. He completed most of the preflight items earlier in the afternoon and then returned later to complete a final preflight check. The pilot stated that the airplane’s fuel tanks contained about 12 to 14 gallons of fuel. He stated that the airplane had large non-original fuel tanks and it was difficult to measure fuel quantities under 10 gallons, and he was also uncertain about how much unusable fuel each tank held. He departed and entered the traffic pattern. He performed a slip maneuver during the final approach to increase the descent rate. He then added power to arrest the descent rate; however, the engine did not respond and subsequently the engine lost total power. The pilot executed a forced landing short of the runway threshold, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and wing strut. After the accident, the pilot stated that the combination of low fuel and the forward slip may have un-ported the fuel in the fuel tank, resulting in the total loss of engine power. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that both fuel tanks were empty; however, fuel was found in the gascolator. The examination of the engine did not reveal evidence of any preimpact failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Given that the airplane was equipped with larger, non-original fuel tanks, with limited unusable fuel data, a known low fuel state, and the pilot’s statement that he performed a uncoordinated slip maneuver, it is likely that the fuel unported from the right fuel tank during the slip maneuver, resulting in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.