ATL06CA091

The pilot stated that he did not check the fuel quantity before takeoff. He stated that during cruise flight at about 300 feet, the engine failed due to fuel exhaustion. He made a forced landing in a wooded area causing damage to the airplane.

On June 11, 2006, at 2030 eastern daylight time, a amateur built experimental Breezy, N15WK, registered to and operated by an individual as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, collided with trees following a loss of engine power in Dover, North Carolina. The airplane received substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plane was filed for the local flight. The private pilot reported serious injuries. The flight originated from Hood Field Airport, Dover, North Carolina, on June 11, 2006, at 1950.

According to the pilot, on the evening of June 11th "I went for a flight in the Breezy, N15WK. I did not check the fuel level of either of the two 18 gallon tanks since I had added 4.5 gallons earlier in the day. I had made three 5-minute hops earlier in the afternoon, each time taking a passenger so they could see the landing strip from the air. The fuel added on this day was in addition to the 10 gallons added the previous week at the completion of the Conditional Inspection. During the Conditional Inspection, both tanks were drained to facilitate a repair in the feed lines to the carburetor. I had made a short 10-minute flight that day as a checkout and one flight of about 40 minutes on a previous evening. I had not visually inspected the fuel level with my marked stick gauge since the original filling."

The pilot further stated that, "I had been flying for about 40 minutes and was about 6 miles east of my landing strip when the engine began to cut out. The time was approximately 8:15 pm. I applied carburetor heat and the engine caught up for a couple of seconds and then quit completely. I was at about 300 feet above ground level and picked a row of trees to go between. I was down pretty quickly and had managed to not hit a tree directly with the cockpit but allowed the wings to absorb the impact. After the impact, I saw that the right wing was bent over to the other side. Since this is where the ELT antenna was, I disconnected it and attached the portable antenna. It was dark enough so that I could not tell what switch position it was in. I managed to move to the rear seat and settled in for the long night. I was seen the next morning from the air."

In closing, the pilot stated, "I believe the cause of the incident was fuel exhaustion. Normally, the amount added since the Conditional Inspection should have been enough for the amount of time flown. However, since the tanks were drained at the Conditional Inspection, some portion of the unusable fuel was not accounted for."

Examination of the airplane by the FAA, found no fuel in either the right or left fuel tanks. When the pilot was asked if the airplane experienced any mechanical problems before the accident, he stated no.