ERA21LA059

Factual narrative

On December 2, 2020, about 0751 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-38, N2420F, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near North Perry Airport (HWO), Pembroke Pines, Florida. The flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. According to the flight instructor, the purpose of the flight was to fly in the airport traffic pattern with the student pilot. Prior to the flight, they performed a preflight inspection and sampled fuel from the fuel tanks with no anomalies noted. After performing several takeoffs and landings in the traffic pattern, the flight instructor’s “fuel timer” went off on a downwind leg of the traffic pattern to switch tanks from the left tank to the right tank. They performed a go around procedure and on the upwind leg of the traffic pattern they noticed a strong smell of something “being burnt.” The flight instructor conducted a scan of the instruments, and noted the carbon monoxide detector was black, which indicated high levels of carbon monoxide were present. At that point, they were 400 ft mean sea level, and the student pilot began to turn to the crosswind leg of the traffic pattern. During the turn, the flight instructor noticed a “lack of engine power.” He assumed control of the airplane from the student pilot and verified that the fuel mixture control was in the full-rich position and moved the throttle lever with no response from the engine. He then declared an emergency, turned back toward the airport, and unsuccessfully attempted to restart the engine multiple times during the descent. The airplane struck an airport perimeter fence, nosed over, and came to rest inverted resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and empennage. The flight instructor and student pilot egressed the airplane. According to the maintenance records, an annual inspection was completed on August 18, 2020, at a total time of 4,930.07 hours. On November 30, 2020, a new engine-driven fuel pump was installed on the engine at a total time of 4,940.3 hours. An examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that fuel leaked out of the airplane as it was inverted, the fuel tanks were breached, and the gascolator was impact separated. The left and right wet wing tanks were found to be clean. Inspection plates from both wing tanks were removed and the seals found in good condition with no evidence of leakage or seepage into tanks. Inspection of both fuel caps found the seals in good condition with proper sealing and no play once the caps were secured. The fuel selector switch inside the cockpit was found to be operating normally. Continuity of the throttle and mixture controls was confirmed. Compression was confirmed on all cylinders. The magnetos were examined and there were no anomalies with the timing. The air filter and induction system were examined with no anomalies noted. The gascolator was found damaged on impact with no fuel found inside, but dried brown/orange corrosion staining at the bottom of the gascolator bowl was observed. The electric fuel pump was found to be operational, and removal of the lower drain cap revealed brown/orange water contamination and corrosion. A brown/orange dust and contaminated water were found in the carburetor fuel bowl and in the bottom of the engine driven fuel pump. Examination of the electrical system in the engine compartment and behind the cockpit panel did not reveal any signs of overheating or burning. The purpose of the instructional flight was to fly the traffic pattern with the student pilot. Prior to the flight, the flight instructor and student pilot performed a preflight inspection with no anomalies noted. After performing several takeoffs and landings in the traffic pattern, the flight instructor switched from the left fuel tank to the right tank. They performed a go-around procedure and, on the upwind leg of the traffic pattern, noticed a strong smell of something “being burnt.” During the turn to the crosswind leg of the traffic pattern, the flight instructor noticed a “lack of engine power.” He assumed control of the airplane from the student pilot, verified that the fuel mixture control was in the full-rich position, and moved the throttle lever with no response from the engine. He then declared an emergency, turned back toward the airport, and unsuccessfully attempted to restart the engine multiple times during the descent. The airplane struck an airport perimeter fence, nosed over, and came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage, wings and empennage. The fuel tanks were breached, the gascolator was impact separated, and fuel was noted at the accident site. The source of the burning odor could not be determined. Examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies with the fuel tanks, fuel caps, or seals. Examination of the engine revealed water contamination in the fuel system at the gascolator, electric fuel pump, engine-driven fuel pump, and carburetor. It is likely that since the fuel cap seals and tanks did not exhibit any anomalies, the water contamination came from another source, which ultimately resulted in a total loss of engine power. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

• — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid condition