Piper PA-24-260 N856CC

Summary

On 28 June 2013 at about 20:55 local time, a Piper PA-24-260 registered N856CC was involved in an accident near Eagle, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 June 2013 at 20:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Eagle, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Eagle County Rgnl (EGE)

Coordinates

39.6411, -106.9356

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-260

Registration

N856CC

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Carlsbad → Eagle

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13LA362

2 people were seriously injured.

The pilots’ improper fuel management, which resulted in the loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was worn and corroded fuel senders, which transmitted inaccurate fuel readings to the fuel monitoring system.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the flight, the airplane's engine experienced a loss of power, and the copilot took control of the airplane from the pilot, who had been flying, and directed the pilot to attempt to restart the engine. The airplane descended and impacted terrain short of the runway. The fuel tank selector was found in the left main tank position, but no visible fuel was found in the left main tank. After battery power was applied to the airplane, the engine data monitoring system indicated that the left main tank had 11 gallons of fuel and the right main tank had 8 gallons of fuel. After the fuel floats were moved, the monitoring system indicated that the left main tank had 2 gallons of fuel and that the right main tank had 9.5 gallons of fuel. Regardless of the fuel quantity indications, the pilots should have known how much fuel was in each tank and, based on fuel calculations, known when each tank was going to become empty. Further, the pilot should have switched fuel tanks as part of the engine restart procedures; however, he did not report doing so. Each of the four fuel tank senders were examined and wear and corrosion were found on all of them. When tested with a voltmeter, none of the fuel floats provided consistent electrical signals, which would alter the amount of fuel indicated on the engine monitoring system. Because the selector was positioned to the left main tank, the engine lost power due to fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.