NTSB: Fuel Starvation Likely In Seneca Crash
The nighttime crash of a Piper Seneca in 2015 that left a 7-year-old survivor was a fuel starvation accident, the NTSB has determined in a factual report. The Jan. 2 crash in western Kentucky killed the 49-year-old pilot, his wife, their 9-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old cousin. The couples other daughter walked through wooded terrain to find help.
The nighttime crash of a Piper Seneca in 2015 that left a 7-year-old survivor was a fuel starvation accident, the NTSB has determined in a factual report. The Jan. 2 crash in western Kentucky killed the 49-year-old pilot, his wife, their 9-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old cousin. The couple's other daughter walked through wooded terrain to find help. According to the NTSB's findings released this month, the girl told authorities the Seneca was not her father's primary aircraft, which is a Piper Navajo that was undergoing maintenance. The report also notes that the aircraft's left fuel selector was found in the crossfeed position and the right selector was in the "on" position. There was a small post-crash fire on the right wing and a "strong odor of fuel," according to the report.
The pilot had logged about 14 hours of flight time in the Seneca prior to the accident flight. He had the twin's tanks topped off at Key West International Airport and later departed IFR from Tallahassee Regional Airport for Mount Vernon, Illinois. Over Kentucky at 6,000 feet, he reported having problems with both engines and requested vectors to the nearest airport. ATC cleared the aircraft to Kentucky Dam State Park Airport 11 miles away. After the pilot reported he lost sight of the airport and asked for the radio frequency, ATC communications were lost, according to the report.
