Piper PA31 N997DN

Summary

On 22 January 2016 at about 21:30 local time, a Piper PA31 registered N997DN was involved in an accident near Denton, Texas, 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

22 January 2016 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Denton, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Denton Municipal (DTO)

Coordinates

33.2228, -97.3469

Aircraft

Piper PA31

Registration

N997DN

Category

Airplane

Year built

1972

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Denton → Denton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN16LA102

1 person had minor injuries.

The total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot reported that, during the postmaintenance test flight, the right engine surged and then behaved consistent with a fuel flow issue. The right engine subsequently lost power, and the pilot prepared to return to the airport. However, before the pilot could secure the right engine, the left engine started to surge and then lost power. The pilot conducted a forced landing to a field, during which both wings and the engine nacelles sustained substantial damage. Although a fuel smell was present on scene, there was no visual evidence of fuel in the fuel tanks or in the field. Only a quart of fuel was recovered from the left fuel tank. Further examination of the airframe and fuel system revealed that the fuel tanks were not compromised, and no mechanical anomalies with the airframe, engine, or the fuel system were found that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that there should have been about 120 gallons of fuel on board at the time of departure. Additionally, a fuel receipt confirmed that 99.36 gallons of fuel had been added to the fuel tanks before a 36-minute maintenance engine test run conducted 3 days before the accident flight. No other flights were conducted between the test run and the accident flight, which the engine data monitor indicated was about 30 minutes long. Based upon calibrations set by the operator, the engine data showed that the engines consumed about 5.6 gallons of fuel during the test run and 19.2 gallons of fuel during the accident flight. Performance information from the manufacturer indicated that the engines should have burned between 10 and 18 gallons of fuel during the test run and between 27 and 50 gallons of fuel during the accident flight. Although it is possible the discrepancy between the recorded fuel consumption and the fuel consumption calculations was due to the operator setting the engine data monitor's calibrations incorrectly, it could not be determined when or by whom the calibrations were set. The absence of fuel on-scene and the loss of engine power are consistent with fuel exhaustion; however, the investigation was unable to determine why there was no fuel on board at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.