Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Wittmann, Arizona 85361
Wednesday, December 1, 2010 10:45 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The student pilot was making a solo cross-country flight involving four flight legs. Before beginning the final return leg, he completed multiple full stop landings and touch-and-go landings that he had not included in his preflight planning. During the final leg, the engine began to lose power. The student pilot switched the fuel selector valve to the left tank, but then switched it back to the right tank after a short period of time. The engine subsequently lost all power, and the student pilot made a forced landing in rough terrain. Postaccident examination revealed that the right fuel tank was not breached and was empty of fuel. The left fuel tank was breached, and the soil beneath the tank was wet with fuel. After the wreckage was recovered, a fuel delivery system was rigged, and the engine was started and continued to run as the fuel selector was positioned to both the right and left fuel tank positions. According to the pilot operating handbook for the airplane, if the pilot allows a tank to run dry and the engine loses power, it may take up to 10 seconds for fuel to reach the engine after the other tank is selected. It is likely that, after running the right tank dry, the pilot did not leave the selector in the left tank position for long enough to allow fuel to reach the engine.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s improper fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/1/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1045 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Wittmann |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 85361 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 334725N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1122858W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1056 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 162 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | LUF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1085 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 16 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 14 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 1 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.19 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 30039 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA AWP Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 2 2012 4:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | snyg |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4122F |
| NTSB Number | WPR11LA067 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA 28-181 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2843118 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2550 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 28 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 24 |
| Airframe Hours | 8558 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | BIRD ACQUISITION LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 70 WALNUT ST FL 4 |
| Aircraft Owner City | WELLESLEY |
| Aircraft Owner State | MA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 02481-2102 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | TransPac Aviation Academy |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 530 West Deer Valley Road |
| Operator City | Phoenix |
| Operator State | AZ |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 85027 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | E25 |
| Departure City | Wickenburg |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1030 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | DVT |
| Destination City | Phoenix |
| Destination State | AZ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 22 2012 3:34PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |