- Date
- November 5, 2004, 13:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Athens, TN
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N711AHFranzreb Loehle 5151 Mustang
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report January 31, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FSDO 03 Nashville
- FAA report
- 20041105030249A
- Case key
- 60644
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The loss of engine power due to the electrical fuel pump failure, and fuel starvation.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot was at cruise flight when the electric fuel pump failed. The pilot manually pumped the fuel to the engine, in an effort to restart the electric fuel pump. After 10 minutes of manually pumping the fuel, the pilot elected to perform an emergency landing. As the pilot maneuvered for the emergency landing, the airplane collided with a fence during landing. The airplane wreckage came to rest in an open field. Further examination revealed an electrical fuel pump failure during the flight. The maintenance history of the electric fuel pump disclosed that it had accumulated 280 hours of total time since new.
Factual narrative
On November 5, 2004 at 1330 eastern standard time, an experimental Loehle 5151 Mustang, N711AH, registered to and operated by a private pilot, collided into a fence on a farm in Athens, Tennessee. The personal flight operated under provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed. The pilot suffered serious injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The flight originated from Riley Creek Airport in Kingston, Tennessee on November 5, 2004 at 1130.
The pilot was at cruise flight when the electric fuel pump failed. The pilot started to manually pump the fuel to the engine, trying to restart the electric fuel pump. After 10 minutes of manually pumping the fuel, the pilot elected to perform an emergency landing. The airplane collided with a fence during landing.
Post-examination of the airplane revealed flight control continuity from the control surfaces to the control yoke. The airplane had separated at the midpoint of the fuselage. The horizontal and vertical stabilizers were still attached to the empennage. The right wing was broken at the wing root and located underneath the airplane wreckage. The left wing was broken at wing root and resting on top of the nose section. The cockpit was crushed and the fuselage was perpendicular to the empennage section of the airplane. One of the propeller blades was broken. Further examination revealed an electrical fuel pump failure during the flight. The maintenance history of the electric fuel pump disclosed that it had accumulated 280 hours of total time since new.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N711AH
- Reported as
- Franzreb Loehle 5151 Mustang
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 6196
- Airframe hours
- 2,088.2
- Engine
- Subaru EA-81, 77 horsepower, unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- John K Franzreb, doing business as F-P Corp
- Registered owner
- F-P Corp
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 2004 · 5.5 hours before
- Departed
- 12TN · Kingston, TN
- Airport
- None
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 81
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- September 1, 2004
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 550 total · 280 in this make and model · 10 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.13 inHg
- Observed at
- KOQT, 40 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.