Aniak, AK, USA
N62029
Maule M-5-220C
The commercial pilot flew 10 miles east to another airport for night currency training. He said he was doing touch and go landings, and while flying on the downwind leg, the airplane's engine lost power. The pilot reported that he was unable to reach the runway, and that the airplane landed in trees. He said the airplane was fueled prior to the departure, and that he switched fuel tanks after the engine lost power. The pilot said the airplane sustained damage to the wings and fuselage when it collided with trees. He reported that a more thorough preflight of the fuel tanks, and to verify which tank the engine was operating on, may have prevented the accident.
On October 7, 2007, about 2047 Alaska daylight time, a Maule M-5-220C airplane, N62029, sustained substantial damage during an off-airport emergency landing, about 10 miles east of the Aniak Airport, Aniak, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) local night currency flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The commercial certificated pilot and pilot-rated passenger were not injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed Aniak about 2015. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on October 8, the pilot stated he departed the Aniak Airport, and flew 10 miles east to the Chuathbaluk airstrip for night currency training. He said he was doing touch and go landings at Chuathbaluk, and while flying on the downwind leg, the airplane's engine quit. The pilot reported he was unable to reach the runway, and that the airplane landed in trees on the tundra. He said the airplane was fueled prior to the departure, and that he switched fuel tanks after the engine quit. The pilot said the airplane sustained damage to the wings and fuselage when it collided with trees. In a written statement to the NTSB dated October 15, the pilot wrote that a more thorough preflight of the fuel tanks to verify which tank the engine was operating on may have prevented the accident. The airplane was not examined by the NTSB.
The pilot's improper fuel tank selection and fuel starvation, while doing touch-and-go landings.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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