Event WPR22LA204

Factual narrative

On June 4, 2022, about 1430 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-32-300, N561PK, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Snohomish, Washington. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that before he departed Paine Field (PAE), Everett, Washington, he did not refuel the airplane, and during his preflight inspection he strained all the fuel tanks and performed an engine runup with no issues. He then departed for a flight to Harvey Field (S43), Snohomish, Washington. He was airborne for about 10 minutes and landed on runway 15L. After landing, he exited the runway and, during his post-landing checklist, the engine “hiccuped” like it was it was losing power and then “revved up.” The pilot turned the fuel pump off and back on and the engine seemed to have “cleared up.” The pilot stated that before takeoff from S43, he performed an uneventful engine runup and elected to conduct a short-field takeoff from runway 17. As the airplane ascended through about 700 ft mean sea level, the engine began to surge, followed by a total loss of engine power. The pilot attempted to land on a nearby road; however, he realized he was unable to reach it and instead landed in an open field. During the landing roll, the airplane struck a dirt berm and became airborne briefly before it touched back down. The pilot stated that once the nose wheel landing gear settled onto the soft dirt it immediately collapsed, and the airplane came to rest nose low. The pilot further reported that before his flight from PAE, the owner of the airplane sent him a text message telling him that the fuel selector valve was on the left tip tank. The pilot said he didn’t think it was an issue; however, he could not remember if he put the selector valve on the left main fuel tank or not. He added that he could see himself switching the fuel tank position by hand, and then putting it back where it was without visually verifying the position. The owner of the airplane reported that he had about 2 or 3 gallons of fuel in the left wing tip tank before he added 4 gallons of fuel, before a performing a “mini run up” and taxiing back to his hangar at PAE. The owner estimated that the left tip tank had about 4 gallons of fuel in it. Postaccident examination of airframe revealed that all four fuel tanks were intact and undamaged. The left wing tip tank was void of any fuel, while the left main tank, right main tank, and right wing tip tank contained a significant amount of fuel. No visible damage to the airframe was observed except for the nose wheel landing gear, which was compressed aft into the firewall. Additionally, the engine mount where the nose gear attached was buckled. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that he had flown about 10 minutes from one airport to another and, after landing, the engine “hiccuped” like it was it was losing power and then “revved up.” The pilot turned the fuel pump off and back on, and the engine seemed to clear up. The pilot performed an uneventful engine runup and elected to conduct a short-field takeoff. As the airplane climbed through about 700 ft mean sea level (msl), the engine began to surge, followed by a total loss of engine power. The pilot attempted to land on a nearby road; however, he realized he was unable to reach it and instead landed in an open field, which resulted in substantial damage to the engine mount. The pilot reported that before the flight, the owner of the airplane sent him a text message telling him that the fuel selector valve was on the left tip tank. The pilot didn’t believe that to be an issue; however, he could not remember if he put the selector valve on the left main fuel tank or not. The owner of the airplane estimated that the left tip tank had about 4 gallons of fuel in it when he put the airplane in the hangar. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. During the examination, the left-wing auxiliary fuel tank was found void of fuel. It’s likely that while the pilot conducted his preflight, he inadvertently positioned the fuel selector to the left wing tip tank position. 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).

• — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level
• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Inspection-Preflight inspection-Pilot
• — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot