yogi63bear
Deleted by JimC
- Joined
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What follows is an excerpt that I copied from the NTSB Accident Inquiry. There are many more and for those interested in learning from others mistakes just go to http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/index.aspx
Search Piper J3 in the aircraft section, you'll probably be amazed as I was to the number of accidents.
I didn't think there were that many J3s still around, maybe this is why :-\
Good reading to prepare you for what might happen if you let your guard down. As an Instructor I have seen many of these situations, its the corrective action that is so important!
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 engines 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.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
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.
Stan
Search Piper J3 in the aircraft section, you'll probably be amazed as I was to the number of accidents.
I didn't think there were that many J3s still around, maybe this is why :-\
Good reading to prepare you for what might happen if you let your guard down. As an Instructor I have seen many of these situations, its the corrective action that is so important!
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 engines 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.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
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.
Stan
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