NTSB NYC93LA098 — 1993-06-01 · GORDONSVILLE, Virginia, United States

Aircraft involved

N9830W Piper PA-28-140 Minor

Probable cause & findings

WAS A POWER LOSS DUE TO FUEL CONTAMINATION, AFTER THE PILOT REFUELED FROM CANS AND DID NOT FILTER THE FUEL ACCORDING TO RECOMMENDATIONS.

Factual narrative

THE ENGINE LOST POWER AT ABOUT 150 TO 200 FEET AGL, AND THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO REACH A SUITABLE LANDING AREA. THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN IN A FIELD, BOUNCED INTO THE AIR, AND FLEW INTO TREES. POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION SHOWED THAT FUEL WOULD NOT FLOW TO THE CARBURETOR WITH THE FUEL TURNED ON AND THE ELECTRIC BOOST PUMP ON. CONTAMINATION WAS FOUND IN THE CARBURETOR AND FUEL STRAINER. THE PILOT USED AUTO GAS WHICH WAS PLACED INTO CANS AND THEN POURED INTO THE WING TANKS WITHOUT BEING RUN THROUGH A FILTER OR STRAINER. ACCORDING TO THE STC FOR AUTO GAS, WHEN REFUELING FROM CANS, THE FUEL SHOULD BE FILTERED OR RUN THROUGH A CHAMOIS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1993_NYC93LA098.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel contamination). All research papers

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For spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO), contamination can occur from thruster fuel, sputter contamination products and from products of silicone degradation.