The commercial pilot was conducting a cross-country flight in the experimental Fouga CM 170R Magister. While descending to the destination airport, both engines flamed out.
The pilot estimated that the airplane should have had about 1.5 hours of fuel remaining when the engine flameouts occurred.
He determined that the plane would not be able to glide to the airport, so he attempted to land it on a short asphalt strip near Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
The airplane touched down firmly with about 1,000 feet remaining. The pilot was unable to stop the airplane on the asphalt, and it continued about 200 feet off the end into rough terrain.
The cockpit remained intact, but the rest of the plane sustained substantial damage.
The airplane had a submerged boost pump in the rear fuselage tank that supplied fuel to both engines through a filter and a nonreturn valve. The main fuel filter had a bypass pin inside the bowl, which moved up and down when the filter was partially blocked and forced the bypass poppet valve to move up.
The pilot and his mechanic examined the airplane after the accident and observed that the poppet valve was in the full-up position. The mechanic suggested that this indicated that there was a blockage in the fuel system. However, due to the damage, he and the pilot did not attempt to find the blockage site.
Based on the available evidence, both engines likely lost power due to fuel starvation as a result of an interruption of the fuel flow.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as a total loss of engine power to both engines due to fuel starvation as a result of an interruption of the fuel flow, which resulted in a forced landing to a short strip and a subsequent overrun.
NTSB Identification: WPR15LA055
This December 2014 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Something not obviously considered in accident reports is when an accident occurs. It is common to say an engine failure caused an accident, even to the extent of saying a mechanic making a mistake with maintenance is the cause.
An accident does not occur until landing touchdown or rollout.
An engine failure, fuel mismanagement, or control loss of any kind can require immediate landing but the accident is the result of the flight control during the following approach and touchdown.
An emergency landing that did not cause damage or injury is not an accident.
What does not seem to be considered in emergency landings is did the Pilot land at the chosen area. Most emergency off-field landings touchdown midpoint or beyond on the chosen site. “I don’t want to be low or slow”, and one-half of the fatalities of these accidents result from overrunning the landing area.