Piper PA-22/20 N3621Z

Summary

On 16 April 2011 at about 19:15 local time, a Piper PA-22/20 registered N3621Z was involved in an accident near New Orleans, Louisiana, 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

16 April 2011 at 19:15

Classification

Accident

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

30.0042, -90.1089

Aircraft

Piper PA-22/20

Registration

N3621Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

New Orleans → Ama

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN11FA292

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s inadequate in-flight fuel management, which resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had just taken off and was about 400 feet above ground level when the engine began to run rough and then lose all power. The pilot switched the fuel selector from the left fuel tank to the right tank and pumped the engine primer but could not restore power. The pilot force-landed the airplane on a road. During the landing roll, the airplane struck a minivan that could not get out of the way of the airplane. A postaccident examination showed little fuel in the airplane's left fuel tank. The right fuel tank was full of fuel. The airplane’s engine and other systems showed no preimpact anomalies. The pilot said that his practice was to take off on the left tank and switch tanks once he was stable in the air. On the day of the accident, the pilot made several short flights and forgot to switch from the left tank on those flights; thus all the fuel from the left tank was used up before the accident flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.