Accident Piper J3C-65 N70906, Monday 14 June 2010

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Date:	Monday 14 June 2010
Time:	13:00 LT
Type:	Piper J3C-65
Owner/operator:
Registration:	N70906
MSN:	17927
Total airframe hrs:	3325 hours
Engine model:	Continental C85 Series
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	Hot Springs, Arkansas - United States of America
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Hot Springs-Memorial Field, AR (HOT/KHOT)
Destination airport:	Hot Springs-Memorial Field, AR (HOT/KHOT)
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
The pilot/owner and a commercial-rated pilot departed in a tandem, two-seat, tailwheel-equipped airplane on a local flight. On the return leg to the airport the commercial pilot was flying the airplane. The commercial pilot, who was seated in the rear seat, did his before-landing checks to set up for the landing; however, during the approach to the runway the engine lost power. Unable to regain engine power, they elected to conduct a forced landing in a vacant lot. During the forced landing the airplane sustained damage to the left wing and fuselage. After the accident the pilot/owner and commercial pilot discovered that the engine's fuel shut-off valve was in the (pulled) off position. The commercial pilot reported that he flew a Cub Special (PA-11), but never the accident airplane (J3), and that the fuel shut-off valve in the J3 was in the same place as the carburetor heat in the PA-11. The commercial pilot added that the shut-off valve was not color coded or marked, and that he pulled the fuel shut-off knob mistaking it for the carburetor heat.

Probable Cause: A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's inadvertent closure of the fuel valve. Contributing to the accident were the unmarked fuel shutoff valve and the pilot's inexperience in the accident airplane.

Accident investigation: