Piper PA28R N2134T

Summary

On 4 May 2019 at about 15:00 local time, a Piper PA28R registered N2134T was involved in an accident near Winter Haven, Florida, United States. 2 people were 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

4 May 2019 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Winter Haven, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Winter Haven Rgnl (GIF)

Coordinates

28.0631, -81.7533

Aircraft

Piper PA28R

Registration

N2134T

Category

Airplane

Year built

1971

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bartow → Bartow

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR19LA136

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine power due to worn fuel valve O-rings, which allowed air into the fuel system and resulted in a forced landing to unsuitable terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The instructional flight was in-bound to the initial approach fix to practice a simulated instrument approach when the engine began to fluctuate and sputter. The flight instructor switched fuel tanks and turned on the fuel pump to no avail. The airplane was unable to reach a nearby airport, so the flight instructor accomplished a forced landing in an open field. During the forced landing, the airplane’s left wing sustained substantial damage when the landing gear struck a rut in the field. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no pre-impact anomalies. During the first of several engine runs, the engine started uneventfully but subsequently surged and stopped. Pressure was applied to the fuel system and fuel was observed leaking out of the top two vent holes of the fuel selector. The fuel selector was subsequently bypassed, and the engine started and ran with no additional anomalies noted. The fuel selector was removed and examined. During a pressure test, when the fuel valve was positioned to the left or right tank position, a fuel leak occurred again from the vent holes. Subsequently, the fuel valve was disassembled to examine the housing, shaft, and four O-rings. No anomalies were observed to the housing or shaft. Microscopic examination revealed that two O-rings appeared to have frictional interactions with the inner surface of the housing bore, and the other two O-rings exhibited wear on the surfaces in contact with the inner surface of the housing bore. No additional anomalies were noted. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with air entering the fuel system where the fuel leaks occurred in the fuel selector valve. Air in the fuel lines would have interrupted the flow of fuel to the engine, resulting in a loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.