N1158XPiper PA-28-151 · 1975

On July 24, 2010, at 0800 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-28-151, N1158X, sustained substantial damage when it impacted the terrain and a tree after a loss of engine power during a go-around at the Black Hills Airport (SPF), Spearfish, South Dakota. The private pilot received minor injuries and the passenger was fatally injured. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight departed from Townsend Airport (8U8), Townsend, Montana, about 0500, and was stopping at SPF for fuel. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed.

The pilot reported that the airplane’s airspeed was 70 mph when it was crossing the threshold for landing on runway 30 (5,498 feet by 75 feet, asphalt), which was 10 mph slower than he normally landed the airplane. He decided to execute a go-around, and he flew the length of the runway before making the crosswind turn. When he turned left onto the downwind leg, the engine stopped producing power, and he executed a forced landing to a field. He reported that he did not see a tree in the field, and the right wing impacted the tree after the airplane touched down.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the airplane and accident site. The wreckage path was about 160 feet in length on a northeasterly heading. The initial point of impact was a ground scar made by the left wingtip. The airplane’s right wing was found lodged around the trunk of a tree located about 100 feet from the initial impact point. The airplane’s main wreckage came to rest about 60 feet from the tree. The left fuel tank was full of fuel. There was no evidence of fuel in the right wing’s fuel tank.

The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction or failure of the airplane. He reported that he did not switch the fuel tanks prior to landing, and that the “engine quit due to fuel starvation.” The direct flight distance between 8U8 and SPR is about 344 nautical miles.