Piper PA-23-160 N4143P

Summary

On 15 November 2024 at about 22:39 local time, a Piper PA-23-160 registered N4143P, operated by Sparrowhawk Aviation, was involved in an accident near Manvel, Texas, United States. 2 people were 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

15 November 2024 at 22:39

Classification

Accident

Location

Manvel, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Wolfe Air Park (3T2)

Coordinates

29.4747, -95.3255

Aircraft

Piper PA-23-160

Registration

N4143P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1959

Engines

2

Operator

Sparrowhawk Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25LA042

Nobody was injured.

A loss of left engine power during the initial climb due to restricted fuel flow as a result of a binding fuel control cable.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilots stated that the airplane had flown multiple flights on the day of the accident with no issues reported. They completed a preflight inspection and an engine runup before departing on the accident flight. During the initial climb, about 100 ft above ground level (agl), the left engine lost total power. Unable to maintain altitude, they maneuvered for a forced landing in a pasture off the left side of the runway. During the landing roll, the nose landing gear collapsed. The pilots secured the airplane and egressed without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage. Postaccident examination revealed that the left fuel selector lever was difficult to move from the Off position to either the Auxiliary or Main positions. When the lever was moved full forward from the Off position to the Main position, there was significant resistance to the movement. If the lever was released, it would spring back toward the Off position with notable force. The left engine fuel control cable between the fuel control support arm and the fuel shutoff valves exhibited binding and was slow to actuate. With this control cable disconnected and the fuel selector On, an engine functional test run was completed with no anomalies noted. Additionally, review of the engine data indicated a sudden reduction in fuel flow to the left engine shortly before the end of the data. Accordingly, the binding fuel control cable likely allowed the fuel selector valve to remain in an intermediate position that restricted fuel flow to the left engine, which resulted in the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.