Piper PA18-150 N8524Y

Summary

On 18 May 2001 at about 17:30 local time, a Piper PA18-150 registered N8524Y was involved in an accident near Tucson, Arizona, United States. One person was 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

18 May 2001 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Tucson, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

El Tiro (AZ67)

Coordinates

32.1000, -110.9461

Aircraft

Piper PA18-150

Registration

N8524Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tucson → Tucson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX01LA180

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection, which included verifying the position of the fuel selector handle, which subsequently led to fuel starvation and a forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane lost engine power and collided with an airport perimeter fence, a tree, and the ground. The purpose of the flight was to make sure the airplane was in working order for the day's glider tow activities. The accident flight was the first flight of the day. A preflight inspection was conducted, which included visually verifying the fuel selector position, which was found pointing towards the left. The position of the fuel selector appeared correct to the pilot. No discrepancies were noted with the startup, run-up, or takeoff roll. During climb out the airplane lost engine power. The pilot attempted to slip the airplane down to the runway. The pilot stopped the slip and tried to make it over the perimeter fence. He placed his hand on the fuel selector and noted that it was out of position. He repositioned the fuel selector, the engine quit, and the airplane landed short of the perimeter fence. During the rollout the airplane contacted trees, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest upright past the fence. The pilot indicated that the he had been flying a Cessna 140, which has a similar fuel selector handle, but works in the opposite direction. He stated that he hadn't flown the Super Cub as often during the year and most of his experience was in the Cessna 140.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.