N4816A

On July 18, 2020, about 1730 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-22 airplane, N4816A, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Loveland, Ohio. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

According to the pilot, before adding fuel, both fuel gauges read ¼ tank and he added about 7.5 gallons to each tank, for an additional 15 gallons of fuel. He then departed the Wadsworth Municipal Airport (3G3), Wadsworth, Ohio, en route to the Cincinnati Municipal Airport-Lunken Field (LUK), Lunken, Ohio. About an hour and half after departure, the engine lost power, had a momentary gain of power, and then lost power again. The pilot selected a road for a forced landing. During the landing, the airplane impacted several mailboxes and a light pole before coming to stop in a residential yard.

The pilot reported that he typically switches fuel tanks every 10-15 minutes but did not recall if he did it on this flight. He also did not switch fuel tanks after the initial loss of engine power.

Examination of the airplane found substantial damage to the left wing, damage to the right horizontal stabilizer and elevator, and right-side engine cowling. The fuel selector was in the off position. The right-wing fuel tank was then drained and about 5.5 gallons of fuel was recovered, the left-wing fuel tank did not contain any useable fuel. The carburetor float bowl was checked and no contaminates were found. The left fuel gauge read about ¼ and the right fuel gauge read zero. The examination did not confirm the accuracy of the gauges or if the wires were swapped from the left and right fuel tanks.

During the examination, fuel was added to right wing fuel tank, and the engine started. The engine was operated from idle to a high power setting with no abnormalities noted.

The pilot reported on the NTSB Form 6120.1 that he thought the reason for the engine failure was due to fuel exhaustion.