Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Piper PA-25-235 Pawnee, N8808L, Soaring Society of Boulder Inc: Accident occurred May 28, 2014 in Boulder, Colorado

http://registry.faa.gov/N8808L

NTSB Identification: CEN14LA261 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, May 28, 2014 in Boulder, CO
Probable Cause Approval Date: 12/15/2014
Aircraft: PIPER PA-25-235, registration: N8808L
Injuries: 1 Minor.

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The pilot reported that the accident occurred during his fifth glider aero-tow flight since the airplane had last been refueled. He stated that the aero-tow and glider release were uneventful. However, as he was returning to the departure airport, the engine began to run intermittently before it eventually experienced a total loss of engine power. During the subsequent forced landing, the airplane became entangled with a chain-link fence and impacted a road before it slid into a drainage ditch. A postaccident examination of the airplane’s single fuel tank established that it was undamaged and void of any usable fuel. Before the first flight of the day, the airplane was refueled, and the total usable fuel was about 32.5 gallons. The airplane recording tachometer indicated that 2.2 tachometer hours had been accumulated since that time. Although the airplane operator reported that, according to historical fueling and flight data, the airplane’s average fuel consumption rate was about 10.2 gallons per tachometer hour, the calculated average fuel consumption rate was 14.8 gallons per tachometer hour since the last refueling. Although the total loss of engine power was caused by fuel exhaustion, the investigation could not determine the reason for the above-normal fuel consumption rate. However, if the pilot had determined the actual fuel consumption rate between flights, he should have identified that insufficient fuel was available to complete the accident flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's failure to adequately monitor the airplane's actual fuel consumption rate, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

On May 28, 2014, about 1500 mountain daylight time, a Piper model PA-25-235 airplane, N8808L, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Boulder, Colorado. The commercial pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by the Soaring Society of Boulder under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local glider aero-tow flight that departed Boulder Municipal Airport (BDU), Boulder, Colorado, about 1430.

The pilot reported that the purpose of the accident flight was to aero-tow a glider to 10,200 feet mean sea level (msl) before returning to the departure airport. He stated that the aero-tow and glider release were uneventful. However, as the airplane was returning to BDU, the engine began to run intermittently as the airplane crossed over the foothills southwest of the airport. The engine eventually lost total power around 10,000 feet msl. The pilot reported that he did not attempt to restart the engine following the loss of engine power. He initially thought that the airplane had sufficient altitude to safely glide to the airport, but it ultimately descended to altitude that required an off-airport landing. He decided to land on a nearby soccer field; however, as he approached the field he realized that there were power lines situated alongside the road that bordered the soccer field. The airplane landing gear collided with a chain-link fence as he maneuvered the airplane below the power lines. After the landing gear became entangled with the fence, the airplane collided with the road before it came to rest in a drainage ditch. The right wing sustained substantial damage during the collision with the fence and terrain.

The airplane's single fuel tank held 38 gallons, of which 2 gallons were considered unusable. The pilot reported that, before his first flight of the day, the fuel level was about 1-inch from the top of the filler neck and that the fuel quantity sight gauge indicated that the tank was near capacity. The airplane operator reported that a 1-inch void at the top of the tank equated to about 3.5 gallons of unused tank capacity. Therefore, before the pilot's first flight of the day, the total useable fuel was about 32.5 gallons. 

The recording tachometer indicated 3,607.7 hours before the pilot's first flight of the day and 3,609.9 hours following the accident, equating to 2.2 tachometer hours having been accumulated since the last refueling. The calculated average fuel consumption rate was about 14.8 gallons per tachometer hour since the last refueling.

The airplane operator reported that, according to historical fueling and flight data, obtained from January-March 2014, the airplane's average fuel consumption rate was about 10.2 gallons per tachometer hour. Additionally, the previous pilot had flown 13 aero-tows with an average fuel consumption rate of 10.3 gallons per tachometer hour. The previous pilot also confirmed that he had refueled the airplane following his final flight, and left a 1-inch void at the top of the fuel tank.

The airplane was equipped with a fuel quantity sight gauge that was calibrated to correctly indicate when there was 10 gallons of usable fuel remaining. The operator's standard operating procedure was to refuel the airplane whenever the sight gauge indicated 10 gallons remaining.

The accident pilot reported that the airplane had accumulated 1.9 tachometer hours during his first 4 aero-tow flights and that there was slightly more than 10 gallons when he referenced the fuel quantity sight gauge before the accident flight. The investigation determined that the average fuel consumption rate for the previous 4 flights was at least 11.3 gallons per hour. According to the pilot, the accident flight departed at 3,609.6 tachometer hours, and it indicated 3,609.9 at the accident site. As such, the duration of the accident flight was at least 0.3 tachometer hours before the engine lost power.

An on-site examination was completed by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector with the Denver Flight Standards District Office. The FAA inspector reported that his visual examination of the airplane's single fuel tank established that it was undamaged and void of any useable fuel.

At 1456, the BDU weather observing system reported: calm wind, 10 miles visibility, clear sky conditions, temperature 30 degrees Celsius, dew point 5 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.10 inches-of-mercury.

NTSB Identification: CEN14LA261
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, May 28, 2014 in Boulder, CO
Aircraft: PIPER PA-25-235, registration: N8808L
Injuries: 1 Minor.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On May 28, 2014, about 1500 mountain daylight time, a Piper model PA-25-235 airplane, N8808L, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Boulder, Colorado. The commercial pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by the Soaring Society of Boulder under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local glider aero-tow flight that departed Boulder Municipal Airport (BDU), Boulder, Colorado, about 1430.

The pilot reported that the purpose of the accident flight was to aero-tow a glider to 11,000 feet mean sea level (msl) before returning to the departure airport. He stated that the aero-tow and glider release were uneventful. However, as the airplane was returning to BDU the engine began to run intermittently as the airplane crossed over the foothills southwest of the airport. The engine eventually lost total power around 10,000 feet msl. The pilot reported that he did not attempt to restart the engine following the loss of engine power. He initially thought that the airplane had sufficient altitude to safely glide to the airport, but it ultimately descended to altitude that required an off-airport landing. He decided to land on a nearby soccer field; however, as he approached the field he realized that there were power lines situated alongside the road that bordered the soccer field. The airplane landing gear collided with a chain-link fence as he maneuvered the airplane below the power lines. After the landing gear became entangled with the fence, the airplane collided with the road before coming to a stop in a drainage ditch. The right wing sustained substantial damage during the collision with the fence and terrain.

A postaccident investigation was completed by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector with the Denver Flight Standards District Office. The FAA inspector reported that his visual examination of the airplane's single fuel tank established that it was undamaged and void of any fuel.

At 1456, the BDU weather observing system reported: calm wind, 10 miles visibility, clear sky conditions, temperature 30 degrees Celsius, dew point 5 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.10 inches-of-mercury.





BOULDER, Colo. — A single-engine plane landed on its belly just shy of soccer fields near the Boulder Municipal Airport Wednesday afternoon, according to the Boulder Police Department. 

The incident occurred shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday near the Pleasant View soccer fields at 3805 47th Street.

According to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, the small plane, which is a tow plane owned by the Soaring Society of Boulder, had just safely released a glider it was towing when something malfunctioned.

The pilot attempted to land in the soccer fields around the airport, which are designated emergency landing areas.

Power lines forced the pilot to fly the plane low; his plane caught on a fence and the pilot had to land the aircraft short of the soccer fields.

Police said it was a soft landing. They didn’t want to call it a crash at this point.

The male pilot managed to get out of the cockpit. He was being checked out by emergency crews, and sustained minor injuries, added deputies. But he was walking around and talking.

There was no one in the field at the time of the incident.

Officers said the Federal Aviation Administration was notified of the crash.


Story, video, photo gallery and comments/reaction:  http://kdvr.com

A single-engine plane landed in a Boulder soccer field near the Boulder Municipal Airport May 28, 2014.
 (Photo: SkyFOX)














 A pilot who had been towing gliders above the Boulder foothills was able to able to walk away with minor injuries from a crash-landing northwest of the intersection of Iris Avenue and Foothills Parkway this afternoon.

The crash was reported just before 3 p.m. Initial police scanner reports had the plane coming down on soccer fields, but witnesses say it is on a grassy area near playing fields at Kalmia and Pinedale.

The plane is owned by the Soaring Society of Boulder Inc., according to FAA records.

Bob Faris, of the Soaring Society of Boulder, said the pilot, who has not yet been identified, but is a member of the club, was "experienced," and was on his way back to Boulder Municipal Airport when he crashed.

"He was coming back from towing gliders up to the hills," Faris said.

Boulder County sheriff's Deputy Steve Kellison said, "The glider had disconnected well before any problems."

Kellison said the pilot was trying to make it to the Iris soccer fields, as that's considered a designated safe landing zone. The plane crashed about 10 feet from the fence bordering the fields.

According to police dispatchers, the pilot was able to get out of the cockpit.

"He walked away from it a little banged up. Minor injuries," Kellison said.

The pilot was transported to Boulder Community Health.

According to FAA records, the plane is a single-engine, fixed-wing Piper PA-25-235 owned by the Soaring Society of Boulder Inc.

"It was more of a soft landing than a crash because he came in on his belly," Laurie Ogden, a spokeswoman with the Boulder police, said this afternoon.

She said the Federal Aviation Administration has been notified about the incident and will be in charge of releasing more information about the cause.

Story, video and photos:   http://www.dailycamera.com

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