ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 233330
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| Date: | Wednesday 26 February 2020 |
| Time: | 16:45 LT |
| Type: |  Arion Lightning |
| Owner/operator: | Compass Aviation Inc |
| Registration: | N1XF |
| MSN: | 114 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2012 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 117 hours |
| Engine model: | Jabriu 3300 Gen 4 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Jerome County, ID -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Worland Airport, WY (WRL/KWRL) |
| Gooding Airport, ID (GNG/KGNG) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot reported that he recently purchased the airplane and experienced inaccurate right fuel gauge readings, so he used a fuel totalizer on the airplane's instrumentation and conducted frequent fuel calculations. About 24 miles from his destination, he intentionally ran the right fuel tank empty and the engine sputtered and quit. He turned off the right fuel tank selector and turned on the left fuel tank selector. The engine started again for several seconds then it sputtered again. He adjusted the fuel selectors several times, but to no avail. Unable to make the airport, he initiated an off-field landing. As the airplane descended, the pilot observed several obstacles. As he made a left turn to avoid them, the left wing stalled, and the airplane impacted the ground nose down. The aft fuselage and wings sustained substantial damage. As the pilot exited the airplane, he noted two streams of fuel exiting the damaged left wingtip. During recovery, limited to no fuel was removed from the airplane, and the smell of fuel was not noted at the accident site. There was nothing abnormal noted with the fuel system as the airplane was disassembled and prepared for transport.
During the emergency descent following a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, the pilot was maneuvering the airplane in a left-wing low attitude, when it stalled and subsequently collided with the ground left wing first. The loss of engine power and the subsequent forced landing likely could have been prevented had the pilot switched fuel tanks prior to depleting the right fuel tank of fuel.
Probable Cause: The pilot's mismanagement of fuel, which resulted in fuel starvation and the pilot's loss of airplane control during an emergency descent, which resulted in a stall and subsequent impact with terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB WPR20LA096
FAA register: https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N1XF
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 24 August 2018 | N1XF | Private | 0 | near Church Creek, Dorchester County, MD | |
unk |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Feb-2020 20:50 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 20-Jun-2021 05:52 | aaronwk | Updated [Time, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 01-Jul-2022 14:34 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Source, Damage, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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