Accident Van's RV-9A N699RV,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 236812
 
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Date:Thursday 22 September 2016
Time:14:00
Type:Silhouette image of generic RV9 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Van's RV-9A
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N699RV
MSN: 90537
Year of manufacture:2006
Total airframe hrs:515 hours
Engine model:Subaru EJ25
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Newark, IL -   United States of America
Phase: En route
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Bolingbrook, IL (1C5)
Destination airport:Gardner, KS (K34)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The pilot was conducting a cross-country flight in an experimental airplane when he observed the fuel pressure fluctuating, and the engine began to surge. The pilot turned on the backup fuel pump but the engine continued to surge, so he diverted to a nearby airport. The pilot stated that he had difficulty visually acquiring the airport and was losing altitude while circling over the airport. He performed an "S" turn but was still too high. He was running out of runway below him, so he performed a "hard slip" to lose altitude. The airplane stalled 10-15 ft above the runway, hit the ground, and slid about 30 ft before stopping. 
The primary fuel pump had failed 4 days before the accident. The pilot replaced the fuel pump with a new unit that required partial assembly. He noted during assembly that there was not an O-ring where the lower fitting attached but that the mating surfaces were different between the two pumps and he had believed one was not required. The instructions with the new pump did not address the installation of an O-ring at the fitting. 
After the accident, the pilot reexamined the box the new fuel pump came in and found an O-ring for the lower fitting. Without the O-ring installed, the fuel system was not able to maintain the fuel pressure necessary to ensure smooth engine operation and resulted in the partial loss of engine power. The pilot stated the accident resulted from this maintenance issue. 



Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to properly assemble the fuel pump, which resulted in the loss of fuel pressure and the subsequent partial loss of engine power.



Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: CEN16LA387
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 3 years and 8 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB

History of this aircraft

Other occurrences involving this aircraft
28 July 2018 N899RV Private 0 Park Township Airport (KHLM), Holland, MI sub
Bounced on landing

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
08-Jun-2020 08:39 ASN Update Bot Added

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

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