Richmond Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Richmond, Indiana 47374
Sunday, June 24, 2012 14:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the initial climb after takeoff, the engine lost power. The pilot reported that he performed the emergency procedures but did not think to check the position of the fuel selector. The pilot conducted a forced landing in a nearby field, and the airplane’s firewall and left wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that the fuel selector was on an auxiliary tank that did not contain any fuel. He added that the fuel selector was easy to move inadvertently and that a passenger’s foot may have moved the selector before takeoff.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s failure to ensure that the fuel selector was properly positioned, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/24/2012
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Richmond
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 47374
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 394522N
Event Location Longitude 0845034W
Event Location Airport Richmond Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KRID
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 1435 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KRID
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.99
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 30277
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 26 2012 8:05PM
User who most recently changed record snyg
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8788W
NTSB Number CEN12CA415
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-28-235
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-10335
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3746
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name John Lewis
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Camden
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 45311
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name John Lewis
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Camden
Operator State OH
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 45311
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code KRID
Departure City Richmond
Departure State IN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KRID
Destination City Richmond
Destination State IN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 24 2012 5:33PM
User who most recently changed record snyg
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --