Piper PA-24-180 N8058P

Summary

On 2 July 1993 at about 20:22 local time, a Piper PA-24-180 registered N8058P was involved in an accident near Malibu, California, 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

2 July 1993 at 20:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Malibu, California, United States

Coordinates

34.0102, -118.4597

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-180

Registration

N8058P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Monica → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX93LA271

1 person had minor injuries.

the inadequate annual inspection by other maintenance personnel and the worn fuel selector valve shaft. Contributing to this accident was the loss of 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 ENGINE SUSTAINED A LOSS OF POWER DURING CRUISE FLIGHT. THE PILOT EXECUTED THE REQUIRED EMERGENCY PROCEDURES, BUT WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE. THE PILOT ELECTED TO DITCH THE AIRPLANE INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN ABOUT 2 MILES OFF SHORE. THE AIRPLANE SANK TO A 20 FT DEPTH AFTER THE PILOT WAS RESCUED. THE AIRPLANE WAS RETRIEVED WITH BOTH WINGS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE FUEL SYSTEMS INTACT. THE LEFT WING FUEL TANK WAS EMPTY AND THE RIGHT WING CONTAINED A MIXTURE OF ABOUT 15 GALLONS OF FUEL AND OCEAN WATER. THE FUEL SELECTOR VALVE HANDLE WAS SELECTED TO THE RIGHT TANK. THE FUEL SELECTOR VALVE, HOWEVER, WAS POSITIONED TOWARD THE LEFT TANK. EXAMINATION OF THE FUEL SELECTOR VALVE SHAFT REVEALED IT TO BE ROUNDED. AN ANNUAL INSPECTION HAD BEEN PERFORMED 16 FLIGHT HOURS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.