The commercial pilot and passenger planned to complete touch-and-go takeoffs and landings for the pilot to build time in the Bellanca.
The pilot reported that the main fuel tanks were full before takeoff and that he began the flight with the left main fuel tank selected.
After the final touch-and go, while on the upwind leg of the traffic pattern and 700′ above ground level, the engine experienced a total loss of power.
The pilot was unable to troubleshoot the loss of power and made a forced landing to a field near Watkins, Colorado, where the airplane hit a ditch and came to rest upright. Both the pilot and passenger were seriously injured in the crash.
The airplane’s owner reported that he flew the airplane the day before the accident for about an hour, during which the engine performed normally with no anomalies noted. He added that no fuel had been added to the tanks in the previous 2.5 flight hours.
There was no evidence of additional fuel being added to the airplane after the owner’s flight and before the accident flight.
A post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the left main fuel tank was empty. The right main tank and the two auxiliary tanks contained a combined 45 gallons of fuel. The fuel selector was found positioned to the left main fuel tank.
Although the amount of fuel onboard the airplane at the beginning of the flight could not be determined, it is likely that the pilot kept the fuel selector selected to the left main fuel tank throughout the entire flight, and the loss of engine power occurred when the tank was exhausted of usable fuel.
An engine test run did not reveal any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal engine operation.
The electric fuel boost pump was inoperative for undetermined reasons and a replacement fuel boost pump was installed only for the purposes of starting the engine. Since the electric boost pump is not required for engine operation in flight, its inoperative state would not have contributed to the loss of engine power. The fuel selector valves were free of obstructions.
Probable cause: The pilot’s in-flight fuel mismanagement, which resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power.
NTSB Identification: CEN17LA220
This June 2017 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.
Unbelievable! Why not just select “both” ?
A “Both” position may not be available in this aircraft.
The aircraft in question is a low wing Bellanca Viking so the fuel selector would not have a BOTH position.
Alright…I understand now.
At 700 feet AGL you have round about a whole minute gliding down before you touch the ground. Switching fuel tanks (and the fuel pump) will restore power in just about 10 seconds. I doubt the qualification of the “commercial pilot”.
It is not made clear in the text but when they were doing the post accident analysis the electric boost pump was found to be inoperative and a boost pump was added to the external fuel source to be able to prime the fuel system and start the engine. The pump was not required past that point so the engine driven pump could be assumed to be operational. It should also be noted that the two aux tanks were full but apparently the two mains were not. Given that they were not able to uncover any fuel receipts to indicate the aircraft was refueled after its previous 2.5 hour flight it would seem that the mains were NOT full prior to the flight in spite of the pilots claim. I hate to propose it but was the pilot actually so uneducated about the fuel system that he inspected the aux tanks rather than the mains and was also monitoring the aux tank quantities rather than the mains. It was claimed that he had been properly educated on the aircraft’s complex fuel system but given the facts of the incident that is very much in doubt, at least in my opinion.
If you see the pictures of the aircraft where it came to rest the airframe appears to be mostly intact. The aircraft has a reputation of having a strong fuselage structure (steel tube) but considering that it was manufactured back in 1969 it may not have had shoulder harnesses and that would account for the serious injuries of the two occupants.
I for one am tired of commenting on this topic. How a you can willingly put your life and the lives of others at risk by flying without knowing how long that aircraft will stay in the air is beyond me. It is a club I sure do not want to belong to. You’d be better off using a pistol to play Russian roulette, at least you wouldn’t take anyone with you. These people need to have their certificates pulled.
Yes while this accident scenario is frustratingly repeated, I am glad that GAN selects these reports often to hopefully get the message across. Fuel management in airplanes requires proper preflight, fuel selection for takeoff, fuel monitoring and selection during flight, and proficiency if an engine failure occurs (changing tanks). This report is a good example where the pilot failed at every step and a reminder that if you cannot recall all of these steps before the flight, then you need to do some homework before your next flight.
Agreed….these articles are intended to be “educational so that we may learn from the misfortunes of others”. Unfortunately some see this as an opportunity to bash other pilots for making mistakes. I am sure they are above making mistakes themselves, I know I have made a lot in my flying career and learned a lot from others.
Kudos to those who do some extra research before commenting!
Yes, more stupid pilot tricks, miss managing the fuel. With 3 fuel tanks and gauges to show the level, and he selects the one with no fuel.
I agree than he obviously did not visually check the fuel, when the owner told his that the a/c had flown for 3.5 hrs without refueling.
It seems to me that the right wing would be ‘heavy’, having 34 gallons of fuel, 200 lb, and ‘0’ fuel in the left wing..!
“The pilot reported that the main fuel tanks were full before takeoff and that he began the flight with the left main fuel tank selected.” “A post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the left main fuel tank was empty.”
The pilot didn’t just not check the fuel he also lied about it. He should lose his ticket having demonstrated the simplest level of incompetence and a willingness to try to cover it up once caught.