The pilot of a piper arrow inadvertently rotated the fuel selector valve beyond the intended positio...

Attributes
ACN	1276064
Time
Date	201507
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-28R Cherokee Arrow All Series
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Fuel Selector
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Private Flight Crew Instrument
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 20 Flight Crew Total 1200 Flight Crew Type 300
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue

Narrative:

During IMC/IFR climb to 4000 ft; selected the left fuel tank. My routine procedure is to have the fuel selector match the minute hand: left tank on the :45min; right fuel tank on the :15min; switching tanks 2x every hour to keep fuel balanced. To switch tanks; I select fuel pump on; switch tanks; verify fuel pressure; select fuel pump off. At xa:45; I thought I selected the left tank. Apparently; I moved the selector beyond left and selected off. At xa:49; the engine sputtered; then stopped. I called ATC; requested immediate turn back to ZZZ; established glide and began the emergency checklist: mixture rich; pump on; switch tanks. The engine started back up. Once confirmed running - I realized my error. I requested to continue on to my destination. Once on the ground; I verified that the stop on the fuel selector did not prevent an inadvertent off selection. Corrective action: visually verify tank selection. Have fuel selector repaired to ensure the tab preventing inadvertent off functions as intended.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The pilot of a Piper Arrow inadvertently rotated the fuel selector valve beyond the intended position which resulted in fuel starvation. The pilot was able to reposition the valve and resupply fuel to the engine.

Narrative: During IMC/IFR Climb to 4000 ft; selected the left fuel tank. My routine procedure is to have the fuel selector match the minute hand: left tank on the :45min; right fuel tank on the :15min; switching tanks 2x every hour to keep fuel balanced. To switch tanks; I select fuel pump on; switch tanks; verify fuel pressure; select fuel pump off. At XA:45; I thought I selected the left tank. Apparently; I moved the selector beyond LEFT and selected OFF. At XA:49; the engine sputtered; then stopped. I called ATC; requested immediate turn back to ZZZ; established glide and began the emergency checklist: mixture rich; pump on; switch tanks. The engine started back up. Once confirmed running - I realized my error. I requested to continue on to my destination. Once on the ground; I verified that the stop on the fuel selector did not prevent an inadvertent off selection. Corrective action: visually verify tank selection. Have fuel selector repaired to ensure the tab preventing inadvertent off functions as intended.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

The pilot of a piper arrow inadvertently rotated the fuel selector valve beyond the intended position which resulted in fuel starvation. The pilot was able to reposition the valve and resupply fuel to the engine.