- Date
- October 31, 2013, 12:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Wellington, KS
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N67JCClevenger Jimmie B Pitts S 1S
- Defining event
- Approach: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 29, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- Case key
- 88369
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 a malfunctioning fuel pump.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot flew the airplane for about 30 minutes and then returned to the airport for landing. As the airplane approached the airport, the engine lost power, and the pilot conducted a forced landing short of the runway. Fuel was found onboard, and it was not contaminated. Testing of the engine's fuel pump revealed that the fuel pressure oscillated due to a malfunctioning relief valve in the fuel pump. It is likely that the engine lost fuel pressure and subsequent power during the accident flight as a result of the malfunctioning fuel pump.
Factual narrative
On October 31, 2013, about 1230 central daylight time, a Pitts S-1S, airplane, N67JC, impacted terrain after experiencing a loss of engine power near Wellington, Kansas. The commercial rated pilot, sole occupant, was not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated without a flight plan. The local flight originated from the Wellington Municipal Airport (KEGT), Wellington, Kansas about 1200. The pilot reported to the responding Federal Aviation Administration inspector, that he earlier had flown the airplane for about thirty minutes. As he approached the airport for landing, the engine lost power and was unable to make the runway. The pilot executed a forced landing short of the runway and impacted a berm, which resulted in substantial damage to the right rear wing spar. Additionally, fuel was available and appeared free of contaminants. An initial examination of the engine did not reveal a reason for the loss of power; however, additional testing of the fuel pump, by the owner, who is also an aircraft mechanic, revealed an issue with the fuel pump. The owner reported that during testing, the fuel pressure would oscillate, and during one test, went to zero, and the engine stopped. He added that he thought the low fuel pressure was the result of a malfunctioning relief valve in the fuel pump, and this was also the reason why the engine quit during the accident flight
Aircraft
- Registration
- N67JC
- Reported as
- Clevenger Jimmie B Pitts S 1S
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 101
- Built
- 1979
- Airframe hours
- 520
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · October 6, 2013
- Departed
- KEGT · Wellington, KS
- Destination
- KEGT · Wellington, KS
- Airport
- KEGT · Wellington Muncipal, runway 17, 4,000 × 100 ft
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
- 71
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 6,250 total · 209 in this make and model · 4,760 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 2,970 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.69 inHg
- Observed at
- KAIB, 19 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 27, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 324 KB in all.