- Date
- May 27, 2021, 18:25 local (23:25 UTC)
- Place
- San Angelo, TX
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N274CVPhillips Ralph W Vans RV8
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20210527009389A
- Case key
- 103180
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 fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the installation of a reduced flow fitting in the fuel line to the carburetor by maintenance personnel.
Findings · 3
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
Shortly after takeoff, the pilot reported an “engine failure” to the airport tower controller. The airplane impacted terrain off the end of the runway. The airplane came to rest upright, with substantial damage to the fuselage and wings during the accident. The airplane had undergone maintenance with the installation of a new glass panel system, and the accident flight was the first flight after the installation. The avionic shop drained about 40 gallons of fuel from the tanks and added the fuel back for calibration. The installation of the glass panel also added a fuel flow transducer tothe fuel line, between the pressure side of the engine driven fuel pump and carburetor. The engine-driven fuel pump outflow fitting had two fittings installed. The 3/8’s port was capped off with an AN929 fitting. The other port had a number 4 reduced flow fitting installed in the fuel line leading to the carburetor (through the fuel flow transducer). The reduced flow fitting would have prevented sufficient fuel flow to the carburetor once the fuel in the carburetor was consumed. The accident is consistent with the loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
Factual narrative
On May 27, 2021, about 1825 central daylight time, a Vans RV-8 airplane, N274CV, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near San Angelo, Texas. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations personal flight. Shortly after takeoff, the airplane came to rest upright, with substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. The responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector reported that the fuel tanks seemed empty but appeared to have been breached in the accident. The airplane had undergone maintenance with the installation of a Garmin G3 system, and the accident flight was the first flight after the installation. He also noted that the avionic shop drained about 40 gallons of fuel from the tanks and added the fuel back for calibration. The airplane was recovered to a salvage yard, where the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) conducted an examination. The top set of sparkplugs were removed from each cylinder, and the engine rotated by hand. Continuity through the valve train and to the accessory section was noted. The left and right magnetos were removed and, when rotated, produced a spark on each terminal. The fuel system was equipped with a fuel flow transducer located in the fuel line between the pressure side of the engine-driven fuel pump and carburetor (see figure 1). The addition of the fuel flow transducer was required to provide fuel flow reading on the new panel. Figure 1: “Red Cube” Fuel Flow Transducer The pressure side of the engine driven fuel pump outflow fitting had two fittings installed. The 3/8’s port was capped off with an AN929 fitting. The other port had a number 4 fitting installed in the fuel line (which ran to the fuel flow transducer – see figure 2 & 3). Figure 2: Fuel Line as it exited to the Engine Driven Fuel Pump Figure 3: Fuel Pump Fittings
Aircraft
- Registration
- N274CV
- Reported as
- Phillips Ralph W Vans RV8
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 81039
- Airframe hours
- 600
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · September 3, 2020
- Airport
- SJT · Mathis Field, runway 18, 8,054 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 60
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Front
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.87 inHg
- Observed at
- KSJT
- METAR
- SPECI KSJT 272343Z 19003KT 10SM CLR 32/18 A2987 RMK AO2 LTG DSNT NW T03170183
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 20, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 16.9 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.