21 Things You Should NEVER Do In A Piper Cherokee

The Piper Cherokee is one of the most-built training airplanes in history, and it forgives almost everything. It has no Both position on its fuel selector, though, and that one design choice turns every tank change into a decision only the pilot can get wrong. This countdown covers 21 habits every Cherokee 140, 150, 160 and 180 pilot, renter and owner should drop. Every item comes from a Piper handbook, a Piper service bulletin, an FAA airworthiness directive or an NTSB report. You will see why a 2023 Cherokee 140 at Williams, Arizona had about 200 feet per minute of climb in 8,922 feet of density altitude, why the NTSB tied 104 accidents since 2008 to the fuel selector, and why an $18,200 spar quote is the price of one wing, not the airplane. The countdown ends with the original flat-plate fuel selector: Off, Left, Right, Off. The FAA proposed a wider directive in 2013, withdrew it in 2014, then ordered checks on 17,957 Pipers in 2018 over backward placards. In 2019 Piper itself asked for a directive to replace the old selector. Decide for yourself: design flaw or pilot error. Sky Ranch covers general aviation ownership, FAA regulation and piston airframe economics from the mechanic's side of the bench. Chapters: 00:00 The handle with two Offs 03:27 Loads, seats, and the fuel selector 06:43 Thin air and worn valves 10:35 The cracks inspectors can't see 15:57 Number 1: the selector the FAA left alone References: NTSB releases cause of crash that killed Dearborn pilot (CEN24FA215). Fox 2 Detroit, Sep 2026. https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/ntsb... SAIB CE-14-22, Fuel Selector/Shut-Off Valve. FAA, Jul 2014. https://www.faasafety.gov/files/notic... Withdrawal of PA-28 fuel selector NPRM. Federal Register, Jun 2014. https://www.federalregister.gov/docum... PA-28 fuel selector NPRM. Federal Register, Aug 2013. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/F... FAA issues AD on PA-28 fuel selector placards. AOPA, Jan 2018. https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/a... NOTC9658, Piper PA-28 fuel selector concern sheet. FAASTeam, Aug 2019. https://www.faasafety.gov/SPANS/notic... Safety Alert SA-076, worn fuel selectors. NTSB, Sep 2018. https://www.ntsb.gov/Advocacy/safety-... WPR24FA014, PA-28-140 N6192J, Williams AZ. NTSB, Nov 2025. https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/ap... PA-28R-200 G-AYAC, towbar left attached. AAIB, 2011. https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/piper... Closed and latched? AOPA, Aug 2017. https://aopa.org/training-and-safety/... AD 2013-02-13, stabilator control system. Federal Register, Feb 2013. https://www.federalregister.gov/docum... AD 2020-24-05, main spar corrosion. Federal Register, Nov 2020. https://www.federalregister.gov/docum... AD 2020-26-16, wing spar fatigue. Federal Register, Jan 2021. https://www.federalregister.gov/docum... Low-wing Piper spars life-limited in new directive. AOPA, Oct 2024. https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/a... FAA orders spar inspection of 499 Piper aircraft. AOPA, Jun 2024. https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/a... Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee 140, Jane's 1968-69. Skytamer. https://www.skytamer.com/Piper_PA-28-... Piper fuel starvation engine failure. General Aviation News, May 2026. https://generalaviationnews.com/2026/... PA-28R-201T G-DIZY auxiliary pump. AAIB. https://assets.publishing.service.gov...