NTSB BFO90LA071 — 1990-08-17 · CHARLESTON, West Virginia, United States

Aircraft involved

CGBEG Piper PA-24-180 Minor

Probable cause & findings

FUEL EXHAUSTION DUE TO FATIGUE FAILURE OF A FUEL LINE. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: LACK OF SUITABLE TERRAIN AND OBSTRUCTIONS (TREES & UTILITY POLE) IN THE EMERGENCY LANDING AREA.

Factual narrative

THE PLT RPRTD HE SVCD THE ACFT TO THE 50 GAL LEVEL (BOTTOM OF FILLER NECKS) BEFORE DEPG ON THE 1ST LEG OF THE FLT TO ONTARIO, CANADA. ACCORDING TO HIM, THE ACFT WAS ABOUT 14 MI FROM LANDING AT CHARLESTON, WV, WHEN THE ENG LOST POWER. HE SWITCHED FUEL TANKS & THE ENG RESTARTED. THE PLT RPRTD THAT ABOUT 6 TO 8 MINS LATER, THE ENG LOST POWER AGAIN & WOULD NOT RESTART. TERRAIN IN THE AREA WAS HILLY/MOUNTAINOUS. DURING AN EMERG LNDG, THE ACFT STRUCK A TREE, THEN IMPACTED ON A ROAD & HIT A UTILITY POLE BEFORE STOPPING. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED FUEL STREAKS ALONG THE LEFT SIDE OF THE FUSELAGE, AFT OF THE ENG COWLING. A FURTHER EXAM REVEALED THE FUEL PRESSURE LINE, PN 21163-00, HAD FAILED INSIDE THE ENG COMPARTMENT. THE LINE FAILED ABT 2.5 INCHES FROM WHERE IT CONNECTED TO THE FUEL PRESSURE HOSE ASSEMBLY. A METALLURGICAL EXAM DETERMINED THE LINE HAD FAILED FROM FATIGUE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_BFO90LA071.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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