Accident Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee N9409J,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 163023
 
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Date:Saturday 4 January 2014
Time:15:19
Type:Silhouette image of generic P28A model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N9409J
MSN: 28-3516
Year of manufacture:1966
Total airframe hrs:2516 hours
Engine model:Lycoming O-360-A3A
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Major Deegan Expressway, the Bronx, NY -   United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Danbury, CT (DXR)
Destination airport:Danbury, CT (DXR)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The pilot reported that both fuel tanks were full when the flight departed. About 30 minutes into the flight, a GPS alarm alerted the pilot to switch fuel tanks, so he switched the fuel tank selector. He then proceeded north to return to the departure airport. About 51 minutes into the flight, while about 2,200 ft above the ground, the engine rpm began to decrease. The pilot attempted to restore power by repositioning the fuel selector, turning on the auxiliary fuel pump, pushing the throttle, and verifying that the mixture control was full rich; however, none of these actions restored engine power. The pilot declared an emergency to the tower air traffic controller, who then provided a vector to a nearby airport. The pilot was unable to visually locate the airport and recognized that he would be unable to land there, so he maneuvered for a forced landing on an expressway. The onboard camera showed the propeller stop while the airplane was on approach and the pilot turn off the fuel selector. The pilot subsequently landed the airplane hard on the expressway, which caused substantial damage to the airplane.
Following recovery of the airplane, 45 gallons of uncontaminated fuel was drained from both fuel tanks; however, fuel system components in the engine compartment contained minimal fuel, consistent with fuel starvation. Although the airplane was equipped with an engine monitor that records and retains engine parameters, it did not record fuel flow. However, the engine monitor did record a sudden and equal decrease in the exhaust gas temperature and cylinder head temperature for all of the cylinders, consistent with the loss of engine power described by the pilot. Although the reason for the loss of engine power was likely due to fuel starvation, the reason for the fuel starvation could not be determined by either an examination of the fuel supply system or a postaccident test run of the engine.

Probable Cause: The total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation for reasons that could not be determined during postaccident engine examination or testing.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: ERA14LA085
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=9409J

Location

Media:

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
05-Jan-2014 00:22 Geno Added
05-Jan-2014 00:25 Geno Updated [Time, Source, Damage]
05-Jan-2014 09:53 harro Updated [Embed code]
14-Jan-2014 22:45 Geno Updated [Time, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative]
21-Dec-2016 19:28 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
29-Nov-2017 13:22 ASN Update Bot Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]

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