Date: 201211
Local time of day: 1201-1800
Location: ZZZ.Airport, US
Flight conditions: VMC
Light: Night
Aircraft: PA-28 Cherokee/Archer/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior
Operator: Personal
Operating under: Part 91
Flight plan: None
Mission: Personal
Flight phase: Landing
Aircraft component: Fuel Drain
Component problem: Malfunctioning
Reporter organization: Personal
Reporter function: Single Pilot; Pilot Flying
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Private
Human factors: Situational Awareness; Human-Machine Interface
Anomaly: Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue
Detector: Person Flight Crew
When detected: In-flight; Pre-flight
Result: Flight Crew Landed As Precaution
Contributing factors: Human Factors; Aircraft
Primary problem: Aircraft

Narrative: I was preflighting a rental Piper Archer for an anticipated 5 hour flight round-trip. After I sampled fuel from both right and left tanks I realized I had not looked at the tire treads on the right wing; so I walked back and saw a stream of fuel coming out of the petcock. I re-opened and closed the petcock and the stream stopped with a few drips; then ceased altogether. Stepping back to the left wing I saw that fuel was streaming out of its' petcock as well. Again; I stopped the flow and after a few drips no more fuel came out. Even though this is the first time this had ever happened in 30 years of flying Pipers; I failed to view this occurrence with suspicion and proceeded with the flight. The aircraft is fueled to the tabs by the renting FBO; so I had fuel enough to start the flight. After 1.5 hours; I landed at an intermediate stop and topped off the tanks. The tanks were now filled to capacity with 48 gallons; which should have been sufficient to complete the flight. I did not draw a sample; and did not look under the wings. After 2.5 hours of flying; switching tanks every half hour; I was shocked to see that the left tank was indicating 'empty'; and the right tank was indicating 5 gallons. This amount of flying should have used only 24 gallons. I thought the gauge might be in error. I landed at the next airport and; feeling uneasy about the remaining portion of the flight; I had the tanks filled to the tabs. I experienced shock Number 2. Fuel to the tabs is 34 gallons and the fuel truck dispensed 30 gallons. I thus had landed with only 4 gallons of fuel remaining. The gauges were indicating correctly.Still; I was not suspicious. I thought I must have underestimated the fuel consumption flying full rich. I looked in the tanks by flashlight to confirm the level of fuel and to be sure I had 100LL (blue); but in the dark; I did not want to crawl under the wing to take a sample and I did not do so. I flew another 45 minutes; landed and put the plane away for the night. On the following day; the next renter reported that the right tank was empty. All the fuel had leaked onto the ground. I still can't believe that I ignored all the signs of a fuel leak. In retrospect; I should not have flown that aircraft that day; or at least I should have closely monitored the fuel burn. Also; I have gotten careless about always sampling after adding fuel; further sampling might have detected that the petcocks were still not closing properly.




Synopsis: PA28 pilot notes fuel streaming from the wing tank fuel drains after checking fuel during preflight. The drains are opened and closed again stopping the fuel flow and the reporter departs. The tanks are filled to capacity of 48 gallons at the first fuel stop but after 2.5 hours of flight the left tank appears empty and the right tank shows 5 gallons. Still thinking high fuel consumption the aircraft is fueled and returned to the FBO where the next renter finds the right tank empty in the morning.