| Crash location | 39.583056°N, 85.804722°W |
| Nearest city | Shelbyville, IN
39.521437°N, 85.776924°W 4.5 miles away |
| Tail number | N338WS |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 13 Mar 2009 |
| Aircraft type | Piper PA-23-160 |
| Additional details: | None |
On March 13, 2009, about 1430 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-23-160, N338WS, owned by Wings of Hope, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing to a plowed field following a loss of left engine power while in cruise flight near Shelbyville, Indiana. The commercial pilot, the sole person on board the airplane, reported no injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file for the Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 ferry flight. The flight departed the Shelbyville Municipal Airport (GEZ), Shelbyville, Indiana, about 1415, and was destined for the Spirit of St Louis Airport, Chesterfield, Missouri.
The airplane was purchased by Wings of Hope and was inspected in Columbus, Ohio, in accordance with the requirements of a 100-hour inspection. The airplane was flown from Columbus to GEZ. The GEZ airport manager topped off the main tanks with 100 low lead aviation gasoline. The pilot reportedly had said to the GEZ airport manager that the airplane had not been flown for four years and that this was its ferry flight. According to the manager, the pilot said that he could not get all of the water out of the fuel system, and that he was sure that more water would be found during sumping, due to sloshing during the flight from Columbus. The pilot stated that no contamination was found during the preflight. The pilot departed from GEZ and said that he encountered the loss of left engine power during the climb at about 4,000 feet above mean sea level. The pilot reported that he turned on the auxiliary pumps and changed fuel tanks. He was not able to restart the engine or feather propeller. During the wheels up landing the airplane's wings and fuselage were substantially damaged.
An examination of the airplane showed water in the fuel. No other anomalies were found with the airplane.
The loss of engine power during cruise flight due to fuel contamination. Also causal was the pilot's decision to conduct the flight with known contaminants in the fuel.