Piper PA-18A-150 N7471D

Summary

On 10 July 2008 at about 21:43 local time, a Piper PA-18A-150 registered N7471D was involved in an accident near Camarillo, California, 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

10 July 2008 at 21:43

Classification

Accident

Location

Camarillo, California, United States

Nearest airport

Camarillo (CMA)

Coordinates

34.2144, -119.0006

Aircraft

Piper PA-18A-150

Registration

N7471D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Banner Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Camarillo → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX08CA224

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate 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 stated that he was descending on a 5-mile final approach for the runway when the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. He said that there were no abnormal indications on the engine gauges, and he believed he had exhausted all useable fuel in the two right wing fuel tanks. He immediately switched the fuel selector to the left wing tank. The engine did not regain power, so the pilot verified that the magneto switches were on. According to the pilot, there is no electric starter installed on the engine. The airplane continued to descend, and about 500 feet above the ground, the propeller stopped rotating. The pilot released the banner he was towing, and he made a forced landing in a rough field. The airplane nosed over during the landing rollout, and the left wing's structure was damaged. The pilot reported that the airplane was equipped with three fuel tanks, two in the right wing and one in the left wing. Each tank holds 18 gallons of fuel, for a total of 54 gallons that provides about a 6-hour endurance. During banner tow operations the fuel burn off rate is about 8 gallons per hour. All fuel tanks were filled to capacity prior to the pilot's 1040 takeoff. The airplane had been airborne about 4 hours when the loss of power occurred.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.