BFO93LA150

Factual narrative

On Thursday, September 2, 1993, at 1000 eastern daylight time, N7507P, a Piper PA-24-250, owned and operated by Donald Doran of Vero Beach, Florida, lost engine power shortly after takeoff and collided with the ground in a field at Caribou, Maine. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The certificated commercial pilot and his passenger received minor injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The personal flight was being operated under 14 CFR 91 and was destined for Auburn-Lewiston, Maine. According to the pilot, he had completed his pretakeoff checks and run-up successfully. He stated that after departing runway 29 at about 200 feet above the ground, the engine lost power. The pilot stated that the fuel selector was on the left tank and that he tried switching tanks to restart the engine, but he was unsuccessful. He made a forced landing in a field about a quarter mile from the airport. According to the FAA Inspector who examined the wreckage, both auxiliary fuel tanks and the left main fuel tank were full and the right main fuel tank was empty. A witness at the accident site stated that he turned the fuel selector off after he smelled fuel, but he does not recall which tank the selector was on. The pilot had reported to the FAA that the tanks were topped off about a week prior to the accident, and that he had flown about 2.12 hours since the refuelling. The airplane's main tanks capacity is 30 gallons per tank, and the fuel consumption according to the FAA is 14.3 gph. The engine was examined after the accident under the supervision of an FAA inspector. The engine was installed with a test club propeller and a slave carburetor in order to test run the engine. The engine was started and operated without difficulty. According to the FAA there was no evidence of mechanical malfunction that would have prevented the engine from operating. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, HE HAD COMPLETED HIS PRETAKEOFF CHECKS AND RUN-UP SUCCESSFULLY. HE STATED THAT HE DEPARTED AND WAS AT 870 FEET MSL WHEN THE ENGINE LOST POWER. HE IMMEDIATELY CHECKED THE FUEL SELECTOR AND TRIED TO RESTART THE ENGINE, BUT HE WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. A FORCED LANDING WAS MADE IN A FIELD ABOUT A QUARTER MILE FROM THE AIRPORT. AN FAA INSPECTOR EXAMINED THE AIRPLANE, AND IT WAS REVEALED THAT BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT AUXILLARY TANKS WERE FULL, WHILE THE RIGHT MAIN TANK WAS EMPTY. THE PILOT REPORTED TO THE FAA THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS TOPPED OFF A WEEK PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, AND HE HAD FLOWN 2.12 HOURS SINCE REFUELING. THE AIRPLANE'S MAIN TANKS CAPACITY IS 30 GALLONS EACH, AND THE FUEL CONSUMPTION IS 14.3 GPH. THE PILOT STATED THAT THE FUEL SELECTOR WAS ON THE LEFT TANK FOR TAKEOFF. TEST DID NOT DISCLOSE ANY EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION THAT WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12