ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 295145
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| Date: | Friday 3 October 2003 |
| Time: | 16:25 LT |
| Type: |  Van's RV-4 |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | N475F |
| MSN: | BWS4 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 560 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-320-E2D |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Metz, West Virginia -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Danville-Vermilion County Airport, IL (DNV/KDNV) |
| Morgantown Airport, WV (MGW/KMGW) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot was en route to his home base, with a homebuilt kit airplane when the engine lost power, after about 2.4 hours of flight. During the forced landing the airplane struck an electrical pole. Examination revealed the fuel tanks were empty, and there was no evidence of a fuel spill on the ground, although both fuel tanks were ruptured. There was no blue staining on the top of the wings, or under the fuselage, although heavy rains had fallen for two days between the accident, and its examination by the FAA. There were no loose fittings on the fuel line leading to the engine. The spark plugs were slate gray in appearance, and thumb compression was found in all cylinders. The pilot reported that the fuel gauges were inaccurate and fuel consumption on the 2 previous flights had averaged between 8.5 and 9.5 gallons per hour. At the last refueling, the pilot had requested that the fuel servicing person leave about 1 inch of space at the top of the fuel tank. The pilot reported that when he preflighted the airplane, he thought the fuel level was down about 1 inch from the top of the tank, The fuel tanks were reported to hold 16 gallons in each wing. A representative of the kit manufacturer reported that the fuel tank capacity could vary by a few gallons, along with the amount of unusable fuel due to variations in fuel tank assembly by builders. The experimental operating limitations issued by the FAA for the airplane required an operative fuel indicating system to indicate the amount of fuel in each tank.
Probable Cause: The pilot's improper decision to operate without accurate fuel gauges, which resulted in a power loss due to fuel exhaustion, and an off airport landing
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB NYC04CA001
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Oct-2022 18:31 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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