CEN10CA517

The pilot reported that he departed on a cross-country flight with 49 gallons of fuel on-board the airplane. About 3 hours later, as he approached his destination airport, the airplane’s engine surged followed by a total loss of power. The pilot suspected that the engine had experienced vapor lock/fuel blockage and attempted to resolve the problem by selecting each of the airplane’s three fuel tanks and affirming that the mixture control was in the full rich position. The airplane continued to descend and the pilot elected to conduct a forced landing at his destination airport. The airplane did not have sufficient altitude and the pilot made a hard landing diagonally across the runway. During the landing, the airplane’s nose gear collapsed and the right wing was substantially damaged. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane on-site and reported that it appeared the underside of the fuselage had blue stains on it akin to the coloration of fuel; he noted that the fuel caps had duct tape on them. The inspector was unable to determine if the airplane’s fuel tanks contained fuel. The reason for the loss of engine power was not determined.

The pilot reported, via the submitted NTSB 6120.1 form, that he departed on a cross-country flight with 49 gallons of fuel on-board the airplane. About 3 hours later as he approached his destination airport, the airplane’s engine "revved up and down, 3 or 4 times” before losing power. Thinking that the engine had a vapor lock/fuel blockage, the pilot attempted to resolve the problem by selecting each of the airplane’s three fuel tanks and affirming that the mixture control was in the full rich position. Without engine power, the pilot elected to conduct a downwind, forced landing at his destination airport; however, with insufficient altitude, the pilot made a hard landing diagonally across the runway. During the landing, the airplane’s nose-gear collapsed and the right wing was substantially damaged. The FAA Inspector, who examined the aircraft on-site, reported that it appeared the aircraft had “blue stains” on the underside of the fuselage and that the fuel caps had duct tape on them. The inspector was unable to determine if the airplane’s fuel tanks contained fuel. The reason for the loss of engine power was not determined.