At 10:25 PDT, a Piper PA28-180 lost power and made a forced landing at Hayward. The airplane was substantially damaged but the pilot was not injured. The pilot was executing the LOC/DME RWY 28L approach when, with the airport in sight about 1 mile out, he canceled his IFR flight plan. The engine quit at a half-mile out and at 500 feet. The investigator found that the right tank was filled nearly to the tab while the left tank was empty. The pilot said he had been on the right tank for the entire 2:25 flight and that he switched to the left tank as he was turning final.
July 26, Hayward, Calif. / Piper PA28-180 Archer
At 10:25 PDT, a Piper PA28-180 lost power and made a forced landing at Hayward. The airplane was substantially damaged but the pilot was not injured. The pilot was executing the LOC/DME RWY 28L approach when, with the airport in sight about 1 mile out, he canceled his IFR flight plan. The engine quit at a half-mile out and at 500 feet. The investigator found that the right tank was filled nearly to the tab while the left tank was empty. The pilot said he had been on the right tank for the entire 2:25 flight and that he switched to the left tank as he was turning final....
Key Takeaways:
- A Piper PA28-180 made a forced landing at Hayward after losing engine power during an approach, resulting in substantial damage but no pilot injuries.
- The engine failure was attributed to fuel exhaustion in the right tank, which the pilot had exclusively used for the entire 2:25 flight.
- The pilot attempted to switch to the full left tank only as he was turning final, moments before the engine quit at a critical phase of flight.
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