# NTSB CEN11LA384: Fisher Lancair, N6ZY, Azle, TX, June 12, 2011 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 12, 2011, 13:15 local (18:15 UTC) - Place: Azle, TX - Coordinates: 32.985279, -97.574722 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.9853&lon=-97.5747&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report June 14, 2012 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 80753 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN11LA384 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/80753/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=80753 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN11LA384 ## Probable cause The pilot’s inadequate in-flight fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Personnel issues](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02040000): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Fisher Jeremy F LANCAIR 360, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02040000/cases.md?model=05629LV), [All aircraft, 56 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02040000/cases.md) - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid level (probable cause); cases with it: [Fisher Jeremy F LANCAIR 360, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=05629LV), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Fisher Jeremy F LANCAIR 360, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=05629LV), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Enroute-cruise: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191); cases with it: [Fisher Jeremy F LANCAIR 360, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md?model=05629LV), [All aircraft, 733 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Fisher Jeremy F LANCAIR 360, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=05629LV), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot departed for a local test flight in a newly completed kit airplane. The pilot reported that, about an hour after departure, the engine gave a “slight hiccup,” so he turned back to his departure airfield. When the engine began to lose power, he turned on both wing fuel tank transfer pumps. The engine subsequently lost power, so he elected to conduct a gear-up forced landing in a field. A postaccident examination of the airplane’s fuel tanks revealed that they were not ruptured in the accident. Further examination revealed that the left wing and header tanks were empty while the right wing tank was full of fuel. ## Factual narrative On June 12, 2011, about 1315 central daylight time, a Lancair 360, kit-built airplane, N6ZY, experienced a loss of engine power while in cruise flight near Azle, Texas. The private pilot, sole occupant, received serious injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged during the accident. The aircraft was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a test flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated without a flight plan. The pilot reported that he had recently completed building the airplane and was conducting a local test flight. The pilot stated, about an hour after departure and while in cruise flight, the engine gave a “hiccup”. As the pilot proceeded toward his departure airfield, the engine started to lose power. The pilot turned on the wing fuel transfer pumps, but the engine continued to lose power. Unable to maintain altitude, the pilot elected to conduct a gear-up, forced landing in a field. The pilot stated that as he lined the airplane up for the landing, the engine died. He added that he was just able to clear trees and a fence at the beginning of the field, however, the airplane impacted the ground hard. The pilot added that after exiting the airplane and that since the fuel tanks did not rupture, he returned to the airplane to disconnect the batteries. An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration responded to the accident site. The airplane’s left wing was nearly separated from the fuselage, the entire empennage was off broken off just forward of the vertical stabilizer and laying to the left of the to the fuselage. Additionally, the propeller separated from the engine; the crankshaft appeared broken at the crankshaft flange due to the ground impact. The inspector noted that the airplane’s left wing and header fuel tanks were empty, and the right wing fuel tank was full of fuel. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6ZY](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6ZY-2011-08-12), registration cancelled 2011-08-12, S/N 001, built 2010 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: FISHER Lancair (360) - Registry model: [Fisher Jeremy F LANCAIR 360](https://openairdocs.org/model/fisher-jeremy-f-lancair-360) (registry code 05629LV) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Aerosport IO-375 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/aerosport-io-375-series) (registry code 01305, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 001 - Airframe hours: 6 - Engines: Aero Sport Power IO-375 185 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Flight test, Part 91 - Operator: Adastral LLC - Registered owner: Adastral LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, November 2, 2010 - Departed: T67, Saginaw, TX - Destination: Azle, TX ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 68; injuries: serious; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review June 4, 2010; seat: left; flight hours: 3,382 total, 10 in this make and model, 2,553 as pilot in command, 8 in the last 90 days, 3 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 160° at 12 knots, gusting 19 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 95 °F, dew point 66 °F - Altimeter: 29.88 inHg - Observed at: KFTW, 15 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20110612011379A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110612011379A), Jun 12, 2011: Fisher Jeremy F LANCAIR 360, Azle, TX, Destroyed. On Sunday, June 12, 2011 at aprox 1400 pm CST, Lancair 360 N6ZY was within its 40 hours of experimental flight phase of the homebuilt aircraft. The owner had… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 1, 2012, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=80753. 746 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 657 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40367016&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Weather Reports and Records (item 2, .PDF, 89 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40367018&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Reports%20and%20Records-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.