Piper PA-28-151 accident near Oxnard, California, May 26, 2006

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The aircraft collided with a car during a forced landing attempt following a loss of engine power in the traffic pattern. According to controllers in the Air Traffic Control Tower, the pilot reported that the engine quit shortly after takeoff from runway 25 as the airplane was on the upwind leg. The pilot was attempting to turn the airplane back for runway 7 when it touched down in a field and then struck a car traveling south on a city street, about a 1/4-mile west of the airport. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector responded to the accident site. He observed witness marks in an adjacent field that he indicated were tire marks from the landing gear of the airplane. The airplane then traveled in an easterly direction about 350 feet where it impacted and went through a chain link fence, crossed the north bound side of a city street, and collided with a sport utility vehicle (SUV) traveling southbound on the street. Responding firefighters noted fuel leaking out of the left wing tank and found that the right wing tank was full of fuel. Subsequent interviews disclosed that multiple individuals manipulated the fuel selector valve in an attempt to staunch the flow of fuel, and the preimpact position of the fuel selector valve could not be reliably determined. The airframe and engine were subjected to detailed examinations and tests following recovery of the airplane to the airport. No evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure was found that would explain the loss of engine power. The only anomaly was the fuel selector valve handle, which was of a non-standard size and configuration that would allow the valve handle to bypass the safety stop and rotate a full 360 degrees.

The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.