# NTSB CEN16LA012: Refling RV8, Bottineau, ND, October 6, 2015 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 6, 2015, 18:30 local (23:30 UTC) - Place: Bottineau, ND - Coordinates: 48.847221, -100.45111 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.8472&lon=-100.4511&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 14, 2016 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 92172 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN16LA012 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/92172/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=92172 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA012 ## Probable cause The pilot/builder’s failure to ensure that the fuel line was properly secured, which resulted in fuel starvation and the subsequent total loss of engine power. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Maintenance: installation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02062035): Personnel issues › Task performance · Owner/builder (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 371 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02062035/cases.md) - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid level (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) - [Terrain: rough terrain](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021015): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcome; cases with it: [All aircraft, 442 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021015/cases.md) - [Object/animal/substance: ground vehicle](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022025): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcome; cases with it: [All aircraft, 132 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022025/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Enroute: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191); cases with it: [All aircraft, 733 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot/owner had just finished building the unregistered, noncertificated airplane and was conducting the flight to seat the piston rings on the newly installed engine. The pilot reported that, during the flight, he detected the odor of fuel in the cockpit. He continued the flight, and shortly after, the engine power decreased to idle. He continued to fly away from the airport while he tried to regain engine power. The pilot then turned back toward to the airport, and the engine subsequently experienced a total loss of power. The pilot determined that the airplane was not going to be able to reach the airport, so he chose a field for a forced landing. During the landing, the pilot lost directional control of the airplane due to the rough terrain, and the airplane impacted a parked tractor. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the fuel line between the mechanical fuel pump and the fuel injection servo was disconnected. The pilot stated that the engine was delivered with this fuel line installed and that he did not check the tightness of the fuel lines after installing the engine on the airplane. ## Factual narrative On October 6, 2015, at 1830 central daylight time, an unregistered Refling RV8, collided with a tractor during an off airport forced landing following a loss of engine power in Bottineau, North Dakota. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The unregistered aircraft was operated by the builder, a private individual, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a test flight. Visual flight rules conditions prevailed for the flight, which was not operated on a flight plan. The local flight originated from the Bottineau Municipal Airport (D09), Bottineau, North Dakota, about 1800. The purpose of the flight was to seat the piston rings on the new engine. The pilot was also the aircraft builder. He stated the engine had about 19 minutes of ground run time on it prior to the flight. The pilot planned to make five 34-mile circuits around the extended runway centerline at an altitude of 5,000 feet. The pilot stated that during the fourth circuit, while on an extended downwind, he detected the odor of fuel in the cockpit. During the upwind leg of the fifth circuit at a point about 6 miles northwest of the airport, the engine power decreased to idle. The pilot attempted to diagnose the reason for the loss of power as he continued to fly away from the airport. At a point about 10 miles from the airport, he turned back toward the airport as he continued attempts to regain engine power. The airplane was about eight miles from the airport when total loss of engine power occurred. The pilot determined he was not going to be able to make it back to the airport, so he chose a field in which to make a forced landing. The pilot lost directional control of the airplane due to the rough terrain and the airplane contacted a parked tractor. The pilot stated that after the accident he determined that the fuel line between the mechanical fuel pump and the fuel injection servo was disconnected. The pilot stated that the engine was delivered to him with this fuel line installed; however, he did not check the tightness of the fuel lines after installing the engine on the airplane. The pilot/aircraft builder had just completed building the airplane and had not submitted the paperwork for the airworthiness certificate and aircraft registration. ## Aircraft - Registration: UNREG (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: REFLING RV8 - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 83270 - Year built: 2015 - Engines: Aero Sport Power IO-375-M1S 195 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Flight test, Part 91 - Operator: Charles Refling - Registered owner: Charles Refling - Airworthiness certificate: None - Departed: D09, BOTTINEAU, ND - Destination: D09, BOTTINEAU, ND - Airport: D09, Bottineau Municipal Airport - Equipment: Stall warning system, Electronic primary flight display ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 66; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review August 10, 2013; seat: front; restraint: 5-point; flight hours: 538 total, 1 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 310° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 64 °F ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 3, 2016, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=92172. 735 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 735 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40433695&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-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.