"A pilot who made an emergency landing last month on Interstate 805 says the small plane's engine began to sputter after he switched fuel tanks early in the flight, according to a preliminary investigative report. No one was injured when the single-engine Piper PA-28 crash landed in the southbound lane of the freeway in Sorrento Valley on Aug. 16. During the landing, the plane's left wing struck a highway signpost and the aircraft came to rest upright against the center highway divider."
"After flying north along the coast for about 15 minutes, the pilot switched fuel tanks. He did not recall whether he clearly felt the valve's position detents when adjusting the fuel tank selector valve handle, the report said. A detent is a mechanical component that creates a fixed stopping point for a control lever. It requires a pilot's conscious effort to move past it and is designed to prevent accidental selections."
A pilot and passenger departed Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport with full fuel and flew north along the coast for about 15 minutes. Several minutes after the pilot switched fuel tanks, the engine began to sputter and lost partial power at about 1,700 ft mean sea level. The pilot declared an emergency, turned the fuel pump on, switched tanks and checked the ignition, but the engine continued to sputter. The pilot executed a forced landing in the southbound lanes of Interstate 805 near Carroll Canyon Road; the left wing struck a highway signpost and the aircraft rested upright against the center divider. No vehicles or people were injured, but the left wing, fuselage and horizontal stabilator sustained substantial damage. The aircraft is a four-seat Piper PA-28 registered to Vandelay Aviation LLC.
Read at www.sandiegouniontribune.com
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