ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 229703
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| Date: | Thursday 3 October 2019 |
| Time: | 10:15 LT |
| Type: | SilverLight American Ranger AR-1 |
| Owner/operator: | Jeffs Gyroplanes Inc |
| Registration: | N463JW |
| MSN: | 0028 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2018 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 140 hours |
| Engine model: | Rotax 914UL |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Fort Meade, Polk County, FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Tampa, FL (X39) |
| Sebring Regional Airport, FL (SEF/KSEF) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The student pilot obtained automotive fuel from a gas station close to his departure airport to fuel the gyroplane before departing on a solo cross-country flight. About 45 minutes into the flight, there was a 'loud bang' from the engine, and it subsequently lost total power and could not be restarted. The pilot performed a forced landing in a swamp, during which the rotor blades impacted terrain. Post-accident examination revealed fuel contamination consisting of water and sediment. New fuel was added, and a subsequent test run of the engine revealed no anomalies. It is likely that the loss of engine power was the result of the fuel contamination, and that the accident would have likely been prevented if the student pilot had performed an adequate preflight inspection to detect water in the fuel.
Probable Cause: The student pilot's inadequate preflight inspection that failed to detect water contamination of the fuel and resulted in a total loss of engine power during cruise flight.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB ERA20TA005
FAA register: https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=463JW
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Oct-2019 06:37 | gerard57 | Added |
| 04-Oct-2019 07:51 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Source] |
| 04-Oct-2019 12:08 | Anon. | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 04-Oct-2019 12:53 | RobertMB | Updated [Registration, Cn, Source, Narrative] |
| 04-Oct-2019 13:52 | Geno | Updated [Operator, Location, Phase, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 09-Oct-2019 20:44 | Captain Adam | Updated [Narrative] |
| 01-Jul-2022 16:56 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
| 01-Jul-2022 16:59 | harro | Updated [Total fatalities, Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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