Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain crash, Oct 26, 2015, Weston
Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain accident on October 26, 2015 near Weston, Florida, United States with no fatalities. Cause: NTSB (as summarized by ASN...
- Date: October 26, 2015
- Aircraft: Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain
- Location: Weston, Florida, United States
- Fatalities: 0
- Phase of flight: Approach and landing
- Cause: NTSB (as summarized by ASN and BAAA): maintenance personnel likely failed to reinstall the flapper valve after replacing the right main fuel tank bladder, causing fuel starvation of the right engine in a turn; the pilot, whose blood alcohol was likely above the impairing level, incorrectly feathered the operating left propeller.
On 26 October 2015 a Piper PA 31 350 Navajo Chieftain, N55GK, flying from Jacksonville toward Fort Lauderdale for an executive flight, lost power on its right engine after fuel starvation. The pilot feathered the wrong propeller and the aircraft could not maintain altitude, so it impacted a marsh about 15 miles short of the destination. The NTSB found the missing flapper valve and the pilot's alcohol impairment contributed to the accident.