PA-28R Cherokee Arrow All Series
Flight Crew Private; Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 20; Flight Crew Total 1200; Flight Crew Type 300
Human-Machine Interface; Situational Awareness
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue
Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem
Human Factors; Aircraft
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.
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.