Piper PA-24 N8739P

Summary

On 12 April 1997 at about 17:20 local time, a Piper PA-24 registered N8739P was involved in an accident near Elk Falls, Kansas, United States. 4 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

12 April 1997 at 17:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Elk Falls, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

37.3696, -96.1907

Aircraft

Piper PA-24

Registration

N8739P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cherokee → Mineola

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI97LA105

Nobody was injured.

fracture of the fuel selector assembly which resulted in fuel starvation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During cruise flight, the pilot switched tanks from the left main tank to the right auxiliary tank. After switching tanks the pilot said the gauges read full and he felt the detent. The pilot had taken off with 30 gallons of fuel in the left main tank. After approximately 2 hour and 7 minutes, the engine lost power. The pilot said he switched the fuel selector to the right main tank and turned on the electrical fuel pump to try and restart the engine. The pilot was unsuccessful and he landed on a gravel road. The aircraft was substantially damaged. Examination of the fuel selector assembly revealed that the cam was separated from the shaft along the line of the braze joint. The O-ring was also separated and indicated a brittle break oriented on helical planes.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.