Complacency leads to engine failure

This is an excerpt from a report made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The narrative is written by the pilot, rather than FAA or NTSB officials. To maintain anonymity, many details, such as aircraft model or airport, are often scrubbed from the reports.

Event started at the run-up area. After doing appropriate takeoff checklist and briefings, student pilot (pilot flying) proceeded to ask for a takeoff clearance for a west departure. After takeoff, all systems/gauges read normal until about 650 feet, at which an abnormally high fuel pressure was seen during the climb out.

After noting the reading, I (the instructor) began getting ready to ask to rejoin the pattern to land.

Shortly after, the engine quit and I immediately took control of the aircraft and pitched for best glide. I proceeded to make a turn towards Runway YY and requested priority handling over frequency.

Tower gave me a clearance to land on YY, but after looking at my ground track and altitude I opted to land on Runway ZZ.

ZZZ removed the aircraft on the runway and gave me room to land. Thankfully, I landed the plane on Runway ZZ and departed the runway by exiting off to Runway YY short of taxiway 1.

After coming to a stop, I began diagnosing the issue and was able to successfully restart the engine. I advised Tower and was able to taxi back to the repair station without further issue

After securing the plane, I talked to the FBO manager to try and figure out why the engine died. The FBO manager, assisted by another A&P/IA, pulled out the seats and inspected the fuel tank and lines. It was concluded that the aircraft did not have sufficient fuel to takeoff for the flight.

As acting PIC I regret to say it was pilot error that caused the engine failure.

The Remos GX aircraft only has one way to check the actual fuel level of the aircraft. There is a transparent fuel line between the pilot and co-pilot seats where you can measure the fuel as seen in the tank. Sometimes, after fueling the plane, the fuel level is so high up the line you can’t see the level. When this happens, you can see the blue tint from the 100LL in the line, this tells you that the tank is full.

From a glance, I thought I saw the blue tint, which would have indicated full tanks.

However, due to the insufficient lighting in the cockpit at the time, I wasn’t able to make a thorough examination and was under the impression that the aircraft had sufficient fuel. As a result, I took off and the lack of fuel caused the engine to stop.

After discussing the issue, they fueled the plane, ran checks on the aircraft, followed by a test flight. No issues were reported and the appropriate logs were made to allow the aircraft to return to service.

As an instructor, I am extremely distressed my complacency caused me to put both myself and my student into an emergency that could have been easily avoided.

Moving forward, every time I fly the Remos GX, I will fill up the fuel tanks and bring a handheld flashlight so I can better examine the fuel indicated in that line.

Primary Problem: Human Factors

ACN: 2085938