- Date
- July 3, 1996, 21:15 local (Jul 4, 1996, 02:15 UTC)
- Place
- Vermillion, SD
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N290EHewitt Cassutt 3M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 19, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960703016359A
- Case key
- 10300
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 failure of the unapproved fuel pump.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The accident occurred during a test flight after the pilot made some adjustments to the engine. The engine operated normally during the flight. He returned to the airport and did one touch-and-go. He reported that he landed hard and bounced the airplane. He applied full throttle to go around. At about 500 feet the engine quit. He made an emergency landing in a bean field. The pilot reported that the engine installed on the experimental aircraft was designed for use as a ground power unit. The fuel pump on the engine was the original fuel pump and had not been certified for flight. The pilot reported that the fuel pump had a vacuum leak. He reported that the valve would not seat and did not create the necessary suction.
Factual narrative
On July 3, 1996, at 2115 central daylight time, an experimental Hewitt Cassutt 3M, N290E, sustained substantial damage when it landed hard during a forced landing due to loss of engine power. The private pilot received minor injuries. The 14 CFR 91 flight departed Vermillion, South Dakota, on a local flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.
The pilot reported that the engine had been running rough at higher altitudes at low power settings. He reported that he had made some adjustments to the engine and flew the airplane to test the engine. He climbed to 8,000 feet and he reported that the engine operated normally with no indications of a problem.
He returned to the airport and did one touch and go. He reported that he landed hard and bounced the airplane. He applied full throttle and did a go around. At about 500 feet the engine quit. He made an emergency landing in a bean field one half mile south of the runway.
The pilot reported that the engine used on the experimental aircraft was a Lycoming O-290-G, which was originally used as a ground power unit. The fuel pump on the engine was the original fuel pump and had not been certified for flight.
Examination of the engine by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the ignition system operated. The pilot reported that he had fueled the airplane with 12 gallons of fuel prior to flight and he never flew it with less than one half tank of fuel.
The pilot reported that the fuel pump had a vacuum leak. He reported that the valve would not seat enough to create the necessary suction.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N290E
- Reported as
- Hewitt Cassutt 3M
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 52456DH
- Airframe hours
- 80
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-G, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Douglas E. Hewitt
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 25, 1996 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- VMR
- Airport
- VMR · Harold Davidson Field, runway 12, 4,100 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 120 total · 80 in this make and model · 10 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 70 °F
- Observed at
- VMR, 1 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.