The private pilot reported that during cruise flight at an altitude of about 800 feet above ground level, the Cosmos Phase II’s engine lost power. Despite his attempts, he could not restart the engine, so he initiated a landing in the open desert near Lake Havasu, Arizona.
During the landing roll, the aircraft hit a large boulder. The trike sustained substantial damage to the forward upright wing support tubes, while the pilot sustained serious injuries.
An examination of the trike after the accident revealed that it had run out of gas.
The pilot noted the trike was not equipped with a fuel quantity gauge, and that the only way to verify the fuel level was visually looking into the fuel tank. He also told investigators he thought he had a full tank of gas prior to takeoff.
The pilot reported that there were no pre-accident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the trike that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause: The total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, which resulted from the pilot’s inadequate preflight fuel inspection.
This December 2019 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.
This was not an ultralight as many have assumed. The docket clearly shows its registration as N5057Z, Cosmos Phase II.
That being so the aircraft would be required to have a fuel “gauge” of some sort. This can be as simple as markings on an opaque plastic tank, a sight tube (Super Cub), wire on a cork (J-3) or many other variations. The included photos did not show clearly what fuel gauge was used by this aircraft.
Regardless not having a fairly reliable and readable gauge makes the preflight fuel estimate that much more important. The best fuel gauge is a clock, but you need to KNOW the power setting fuel burn and consistently fly at those power settings.
A simple guard for the switch would prevent accidental movement of it….a 5 minute change.!
It’s an ultralight, no pilot certificate required. Common sense is apparently not required either!
You can’t fix st***d
Reminds me of my dads response when my excuse started out with “I thought….”. He would say, “You know what thought done”.
Just drop off your pilot certificate at the local FSDO office.
Since no pilot’s license of any kind is required for this ultralight, this ”pilot” probably didn’t have one.