Piper PA-30 N8162Y

Summary

On 16 June 2003 at about 19:42 local time, a Piper PA-30 registered N8162Y was involved in an accident near NewPhiladelphia, Ohio, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 June 2003 at 19:42

Classification

Accident

Location

NewPhiladelphia, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Harry Clever Field (PHD)

Coordinates

40.4808, -81.4404

Aircraft

Piper PA-30

Registration

N8162Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Crawfordsville → New Philadelphi

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD03FA058

2 people died.

The pilot's mismanagement of the fuel, and his failure to maintain minimum controllable airspeed with one engine inoperative.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While on a long cross country flight, the left engine shut down in-flight and had to be restarted. The pilot then landed and refueled the airplane. While the airplane was being refueled, he asked the lineman if the left outboard tank was empty, and the fueler confirmed that it was. The pilot also stated that he thought that he had run the tank dry, and that the engine was burning more fuel than anticipated. He purchased 55 gallons of fuel and departed. About 2 hours later, while maneuvering near New Philadelphia, Ohio, a review of the last 4 minutes of recorded GPS data revealed the airplane had decelerated from 110 miles per hour (mph) to 84.9 mph, and descended from 1,699 feet to 923 feet, before the data ended. Witnesses heard the airplane having engine trouble, and observed the airplane make a left turn, then roll upside down, before it hit the ground. Examination of each of the four fuel-bladder tanks revealed that the left outboard tank was intact and empty, and the left inboard tank was empty, but breached at the engine nacelle. The right inboard tank was intact and about 1/4-full of fuel. The right outboard tank was intact, and a small amount of fuel was in the tank, but fuel was observed draining from the tank at the accident site. The fuel selector handles were set to the outboard tanks. According to the Piper Comanche Owner's Manual, "Vmc is the calibrated airspeed, determined by FAA test pilots, below which a twin engine aircraft cannot be controlled in flight with one engine operating at take-off power and the other engine wind milling." The Vmc, which the FAA had determined for this airplane, was 90 mph.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.