Piper PA-32-260 N3797W

Summary

On 13 April 2025 at about 20:42 local time, a Piper PA-32-260 registered N3797W was involved in an accident near Green Valley, Arizona, 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

13 April 2025 at 20:42

Classification

Accident

Location

Green Valley, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

31.9032, -111.0786

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-260

Registration

N3797W

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Nogales → Phoenix

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR25LA131

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper fuel management, which resulted in a total 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

The pilot reported that, while conducting a cross-country flight, he noted that the airplane’s generator breaker was malfunctioning. He chose to continue the flight on battery backup, cycling the battery power on and off throughout the remainder of the flight to conserve power. While the airplane was climbing through 6,300 ft mean sea level (msl) about 20 miles north of the planned rest stop, the engine began to sputter. While troubleshooting, the pilot turned on the electric fuel pump and switched fuel tanks. Despite his attempts to troubleshoot, the engine lost total power. The pilot determined that the airplane could not maintain flight to reach the nearest airport. He initiated a forced landing to a dirt road, during which the airplane’s left wing struck a dirt berm and sustained substantial damage. Although the airplane was equipped with an engine monitor capable of recording numerous parameters related to engine operation, the unit contained no data. It is likely that, due to the electrical power interruption during the flight, the engine monitor did not record any data. Examinations of the recovered airframe and engine, which included an engine run, revealed no preaccident mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation. About 20 to 25 gallons of fuel was recovered from the left main tank, but the right main and both tip tanks were devoid of fuel. The fuel selector lever was found positioned to the right tip tank. Continuity of the fuel system was established from the main fuel tanks throughout the system to the fuel servo. During a leak test, the left main, right main, and right tip tanks showed no evidence of leakage, and the leakage observed from the left tip tank was consistent with impact damage to the fuel sump. Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot failed to select a fuel tank that contained fuel, which resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.