Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Oswego, New York 13126
Monday, May 3, 1999 12:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was flying a practice approach to an airstrip he was constructing on his land, and that was incomplete. The fuel selector was switched from the left to the right tank, about 5 minutes before arriving at the airstrip. After flying about two thirds down the runway, the pilot added power, and began a climb. The engine then lost power. As the pilot pulled sharply back on the controls to avoid obstacles, the airplane stalled, and impacted the ground. Examination of the wreckage revealed the right wing fuel tank was empty, and 1 pint of fuel was drained from the auxiliary fuel tank. The left tank contained approximately 15 gallons of fuel. The fuel selector, located in the cockpit, was found in a position, in-between the left and right fuel tank settings. The operating instructions section of the Piper Tri-Pacer owners handbook stated that, 'Before take-off, it is very important that the fuel selector be checked to make sure it is on the proper tank.' Additionally, the handbook cautioned, 'When fuel quantity in right tank is 1/3 or less use only in level flight.'
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate fuel management which resulted in fuel starvation and subsequent loss of engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/3/1999 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1230 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | OSWEGO |
| Event State | NEW YORK |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 13126 |
| Event Date Year | 1999 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | NONE |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1254 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 160 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SYR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 421 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 20 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 15000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 100 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 17 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1449 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 354 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 3 1999 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1800 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 12 2000 11:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2716P |
| NTSB Number | NYC99LA105 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-22-150 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-22-150 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 22-3022 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2000 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 9 1998 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ROBERT F LEMAY |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4903 STATE ROUTE 104 #2 |
| Aircraft Owner City | OSWEGO |
| Aircraft Owner State | NY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 13126 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | ROBERT F. LAMAY |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 4903 STATE ROUTE 104 #2 |
| Operator City | OSWEGO |
| Operator State | NY |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 13126 |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | N00 |
| Departure City | FULTON |
| Departure State | NY |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1200 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |