FTW87FA087

1987-03-31 · LEAKEY, Texas, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 49R

Aircraft involved

N4602R Piper PA-28-140 Serious

Factual narrative

FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT PILOT FLYING PIPER PA-28-140 DEPARTED UNCONTROLLED AIRPORT AFTER SWITCHING FUEL TANKS ON RUNWAY. FUEL SELECTOR VALVE WAS INADVERTENTLY MOVED TO OFF POSITION BY STUDENT PILOT. AIRCRAFT ENGINE QUIT ON INITIAL CLIMB AT APPROXIMATELY 200 FT AGL. AIRCRAFT IMPACTED APPROXIMATELY .5 MILES FROM AIRPORT. FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR SERIOUSLY INJURED, STUDENT RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. PIPER SERVICE BULLETIN #840 NOT COMPLIED WITH. SB #840 PROVIDES FOR NEW FUEL SELECTOR VALVE COVER ASSEMBLY AND MATING HANDLE TO REDUCE POSSIBILITY OF FUEL MISMANAGEMENT THROUGH INADVERTENT SELECTION OF THE OFF POSITION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_FTW87FA087.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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