ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 163359
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| Date: | Friday 17 January 2014 |
| Time: | 16:39 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-24-250 Comanche |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N6570P |
| MSN: | 24-1692 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1960 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 5600 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County (KRHV), San Jose, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | San Jose, CA (RHV) |
| Sonoma, CA (0Q9) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
This was the first flight for the Piper airplane in the last 3 months, during which time, it was parked on a ramp outside in the winter. The pilot reported that he performed a preflight inspection but that he did not sump the fuel system. The airplane’s main fuel tanks were full with fuel, and the fuel selector valves were set to the main fuel tanks. Shortly after takeoff at an altitude of about 300 to 400 feet above ground level, the engine began to “sputter” with a corresponding partial loss of power. The pilot cycled the throttle control with no change in engine power and then turned back toward the airport. The airplane did not have sufficient altitude to reach a runway, so the pilot performed a gear-up landing onto a taxiway. After landing, the airplane slid across the taxiway surface and struck a taxiing Cessna airplane; both airplanes sustained substantial damage.
Postaccident examination of the engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation, and it started and ran smoothly during a subsequent test run. Given the pilot’s failure to sump the fuel system and the fact that the engine did not experience a total loss of engine power, it is likely that the fuel system became contaminated with water while the airplane sat on the ramp for the preceding 3 months.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to sump the fuel tanks, which resulted in water contamination, a partial loss of engine power during takeoff, and collision with a taxiing airplane during the subsequent forced landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=6570P
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Jan-2014 03:00 | Geno | Added |
| 24-Jan-2014 22:31 | Geno | Updated [Nature, Destination airport, Source, 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, Narrative] |
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