Detent: Pilot’s Tiny Misstep Leads to Tragedy

As a general principle, tank switches should be gotten out of the way early in the approach sequence.

Peter Garrison

Wednesday, July 02, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Tank switches should be gotten out of the way early in the approach sequence, while you still have altitude. [Illustration: David Weaver]

Key Takeaways:

A family of five perished in a Piper PA-32 crash near Nashville, Tennessee, after the aircraft's engine failed during a night landing approach.
The NTSB determined the probable cause was the pilot's failure to properly position the fuel selector during approach and landing, leading to fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power.
The fuel valve was found in an intermediate position between 'LEFT' and 'OFF', and the article suggests that delaying fuel tank selection and limited night flying experience contributed to the fatal outcome.

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At midday on a Monday in March 2024, a family of five, with children aged 12, 10, and 7, set out from Brampton, Ontario, in a Piper PA-32 Turbo Lance. They were bound for Nashville, Tennessee. Perhaps to calm the impatience of his children, the father, who was the pilot, broke the 540 nm trip into three segments. The first leg, of just one hour, brought the family to Erie, Pennsylvania. The distance is less than 100 nm, which the Lance would normally cover in 40 minutes, but they may have made a dogleg rather than fly directly across Lake Erie.

At Erie he added 22 gallons of fuel, and they continued to Mount Sterling, Kentucky, a 300 nm hop. At Mount Sterling he added 52 gallons and departed in the twilight for Nashville, 175 nm distant. An hour and a half later, they approached Nashville in darkness. The sky was clear; the wind was 150 at 8.