CEN14LA241

The pilot reported that, about 10 to 15 minutes after takeoff in the single-engine airplane, he smelled fuel in the cockpit, and the airplane's fuel pressure gauge read 0. He activated the electric fuel boost pump, but the fuel pressure reading remained 0. At this point, the engine lost power, and the pilot subsequently executed a wheels-up forced landing to a field. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the inlet hose to the mechanical fuel pump was not connected; the hose fitting and the fuel pump's mating fitting were not damaged. Based on the available evidence, it is likely that the hose fuel fitting was not properly installed, which allowed the fitting to vibrate loose during operation until it became disconnected and resulted in the loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Because the hose fitting was found higher than the fuel tanks, fuel would not have leaked from the hose while the airplane was parked. Therefore, the pilot would not have been able to detect the discrepancy during preflight examination of the airplane.

On May 6, 2014, about 1118 central daylight time, an amateur built Kinsler Lancair MKII airplane, N246AK, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Crivitz, Wisconsin. The pilot sustained serious injuries during the forced landing. The aircraft was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was not on a flight plan. The flight originated from the J. Douglas Bake Memorial Airport, Oconto, Wisconsin, about 20 minutes prior to the accident, and was destined for the Ford Airport (IMT), near Iron Mountain Michigan. The pilot reported that about 10-15 minutes into the flight he detected the odor of aviation gasoline inside the cockpit. He said that he looked at his fuel pressure gauge and it read zero so he turned on the electric boost pump. The gauge reading still read zero, so he turned the boost pump off. The airplane's engine was losing power. The pilot used his GPS receiver to a turn toward the Crivitz Municipal Airport (3D1), Crivitz, Wisconsin, but he was not able to visually locate the airport. He saw a large field and performed a forced landing with the landing gear retracted. The Federal Aviation Administration Inspector that examined the airplane at the accident scene saw a fitting on the engine driven fuel pump that did not have a hose attached. He was unable to physically access the fitting during the on-scene examination. After the airplane was recovered from the accident site, another examination revealed that the fitting was the inlet fitting of the mechanical fuel pump. The hose that attached to the fitting had come loose and was no longer attached. The hose was present and the fitting on the hose and the mating fitting on the fuel pump showed no physical damage. The fittings appeared to be standard AN fittings. The location of the fitting in question was above the level of the fuel tanks and would have prevented leaking or siphoning of fuel when the airplane was parked.