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A C177 fuel tank selector did not correspond to a tank with fuel; the student pilot selected the incorrect tank and subsequently the engine quit immediately after takeoff because of fuel starvation. The instructor pilot completed an immediate turn back landing.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 838544 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200906 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Cardinal 177/177RG |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Other 61 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Climb |
| Route In Use | None |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Fuel Selector |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Instructor |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 120 Flight Crew Total 1100 Flight Crew Type 300 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical |
Narrative:
Cessna cardinal took off from runway 3 and had to make a forced landing on runway 21 due to an engine failure on climbout. The student pilot was flying on climbout when the engine failed. I; the instructor took control of the aircraft at this point; executed the emergency procedures of setting best glide speed; clearing light post obstacles; then slipping the aircraft to land on the remaining length of runway 21; rolling to a stop in the grass at the end of the runway without incident. After landing; the pilots determined the cause of the failure was fuel starvation as a result of putting the fuel selector into a non-existent detent. When running the before takeoff checklist; instead of setting the fuel selector to both; the student slid the pointer end of the selector up underneath the floor. I saw the student reach down and turn the selector; heard the *click* into place; and in the dark lighting; the back end of the selector looked like the pointer end appropriately selected in the both position. During our lesson debrief we decided that in the future we will use a flashlight to verify the position of the fuel selector and other items on the checklist. We will reach down and feel to make sure the selector is in the correct position. Additionally; I will add a metal plate to the fuel selector wall to make it impossible to move the selector to the false position.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A C177 fuel tank selector did not correspond to a tank with fuel; the student pilot selected the incorrect tank and subsequently the engine quit immediately after takeoff because of fuel starvation. The instructor pilot completed an immediate turn back landing.
Narrative: Cessna Cardinal took off from Runway 3 and had to make a forced landing on Runway 21 due to an engine failure on climbout. The student pilot was flying on climbout when the engine failed. I; the instructor took control of the aircraft at this point; executed the emergency procedures of setting best glide speed; clearing light post obstacles; then slipping the aircraft to land on the remaining length of Runway 21; rolling to a stop in the grass at the end of the runway without incident. After landing; the pilots determined the cause of the failure was fuel starvation as a result of putting the fuel selector into a non-existent detent. When running the before takeoff checklist; instead of setting the fuel selector to both; the student slid the pointer end of the selector up underneath the floor. I saw the student reach down and turn the selector; heard the *click* into place; and in the dark lighting; the back end of the selector looked like the pointer end appropriately selected in the both position. During our lesson debrief we decided that in the future we will use a flashlight to verify the position of the fuel selector and other items on the checklist. We will reach down and feel to make sure the selector is in the correct position. Additionally; I will add a metal plate to the fuel selector wall to make it impossible to move the selector to the false position.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.