Event ERA20TA046

Factual narrative

On December 2, 2019, about 1240 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-161, N558PU, was substantially damaged during a forced landing in a field at Vero Beach, Florida. The private pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated by FlightSafety International under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a solo-instructional flight. Day, visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight. The flight originated at La Belle Municipal Airport (X14), La Belle, Florida about 1130 and was destined for Vero Beach Regional Airport (VRB), Vero Beach, Florida. According to the operator, the pilot departed VRB earlier in the day for a solo, cross-country flight. He took off from VRB with full fuel tanks (48 useable gallons) and landed uneventfully at X14. He intended to switch fuel tanks one hour into the flight, contrary to the flight school's policy of every 30 minutes. He forgot to switch tanks prior to landing at X14 and did not switch tanks on the ground at X14 prior to departure. During the return flight to VRB, he again did not switch fuel tanks. While in the traffic pattern at VRB, the engine lost all power. Unable to glide to runway 4, he performed a forced landing in a field to the south of the airport. During the landing roll, the airplane collided with a tree, separating the left wing from the airframe. An inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration responded to the accident site and examined the wreckage. Both wings and the fuselage were structurally damaged. The left wing fuel tank was not breached and contained no fuel. The right wing fuel tank was completely full of fuel. The cockpit fuel selector handle was found in the left tank position. During the cross-country flight, the pilot completed the first leg using the left fuel tank only. While in the traffic pattern at his destination airport, the engine lost all power. The pilot performed a forced landing in a field and the airplane was substantially damaged after colliding with a tree. An examination of the wreckage revealed that the left fuel tank was empty and undamaged; the fuel selector handle was on the left tank. The right tank was full. Thus, it is likely that the engine was starved of fuel when the fuel supply in the left wing tank was exhausted. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid management - C
• C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot - C