N478WT

On July 10, 2022, about 1810 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-24-260 airplane, N478WT, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Rapid City, South Dakota. The pilot was uninjured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported that he departed for an estimated 30-minute flight. When the airplane was about 6,000 ft above mean sea level, the engine lost all power. The pilot declared an emergency with air traffic control and stated that he needed to return to the airport. He subsequently switched fuel tanks and attempted multiple engine restarts, but power could not be restored. Unable to reach the runway, he performed a forced landing to a field, during which the airplane bounced, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane slid until it came to rest upright, which resulted in substantial damage to the elevator. The pilot stated that, following the accident, he turned off the fuel selector to prevent a fire.

The pilot stated that the airplane had undergone an annual inspection about 2 days before the accident flight. Following the inspection, the pilot flew the airplane in the traffic pattern and then added 30 gallons of fuel to each main fuel tank for a total of 68 gallons of fuel on board the airplane. He said that it was his habit to start the flight with the left main fuel tank selected. When the engine lost power, he switched to the right main fuel tank for the restart attempts. He said that he did not use the auxiliary fuel tanks.

During a postaccident examination by the Federal Aviation Administration, fuel was drained from the left and right main fuel tanks as well as the right auxiliary fuel tank. When the left auxiliary fuel tank was checked, no fuel was present. No contaminants were found in any of the fuel samples.

A detailed engine examination could not be accomplished because the insurance company sold the wreckage before it was released by the National Transportation Safety Board.