- Date
- May 1, 1994, 15:45 local (19:45 UTC)
- Place
- Statesville, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N41ESHesterlee Rutan Vari EZE
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940501009649A
- Case key
- 3378
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 pilot's improper positioning of the fuel selector, which resulted in fuel starvation during the initial climb after takeoff. A factor was a ditch adjacent to the runway.
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
During the initial climb after takeoff, the engine quit. A forced landing was attempted, which resulted in a collision with a ditch as the pilot attempted to re-land on the remainder of the departure runway. The pilot reported that he moved the fuel selector from the auxiliary tank position to the off position instead of the main tank position.
Factual narrative
On May 1, 1994, about 1545 eastern daylight time, a Hesterlee Rutan Vari Eze, N41ES, collided with the ground during a forced landing at Statesville, North Carolina. The airplane was operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A flight plan was not filed for the personal flight. there were no injuries to the private pilot, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The pilot believed that he inadvertently turned the fuel selector from the auxiliary tankposition to the off position, instead of the main fuel tank position. During the initial climb after takeoff, the engine quit. A forced landing was attempted which resulted in a collision with a ditch, as the pilot tried to re-land on the runway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N41ES
- Reported as
- Hesterlee Rutan Vari EZE (RUTAN VARI)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 676
- Airframe hours
- 909
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Stamper, Edward K., Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 27, 1993 · 40 hours before
- Destination
- W44 · Asheboro, NC
- Airport
- SVH · Statesville Municipal, runway 28, 5,004 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 32
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,535 total · 69 in this make and model · 333 as pilot in command · 70 in the last 90 days · 29 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 5 knots, gusting 8
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.