DEN00LA101

While on downwind abeam the airport, the engine lost all power. The pilot switched from the left to the right fuel tank and turned on the boost pump. He said he could hear the electric boost pump running. With the propeller windmilling, the engine would not start, nor would it start when the pilot set the mixture to full rich and opened the throttle fully. The pilot attempted to land on the runway. When he thought he could glide to the runway, he lowered the landing gear. Aerodynamic drag dissipated what little airspeed remained, and the airplane touched down short of the runway. During the rollout, the airplane struck a raised road berm. Post-accident examination revealed an empty left tank and 17 gallons of fuel in the right tank. When the boost pump was activated, fuel flowed to the engine fuel control unit. The pilot reported that he had run fuel tanks empty before, but the engine always restarted after the fuel selector was switched to a tank containing fuel and the boost pump was switched on. The boost pump is mounted on the firewall about 6 inches above the fuel tank and about 2 inches below the engine-driven fuel pump. Blueprints show the boost pump being mounted in the area of the nose wheel well. Other builders of this airplane have installed a pulse pump at the fuel selector valve location because of possible fuel starvation.

On June 4, 2000, at 1223 mountain daylight time, a Schmacher Swearingen SX-300, N2H, registered to and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain while on landing approach to Richfield Municipal Airport, Richfield, Utah. The private pilot, the sole occupant aboard, received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Salt Lake City, Utah, approximately 45 minutes before the accident.

According to the pilot's accident report, he had 28.4 gallons useable fuel on board when he departed Salt Lake City International Airport and, using a fuel consumption rate of 16.5 gallons per hour, the pilot estimated he had 1.72 hours endurance for the 40 minute flight to Richfield. Southbound and west of the runway, about midfield at 7,000 feet msl (above mean sea level), the engine "suddenly sputtered and abruptly quit." The pilot switched from the left to the right fuel tank and turned on the boost pump. He said he could hear the electric boost pump running. With the propeller windmilling, the engine would not start, nor would it start when the pilot set the mixture to full rich and opened the throttle fully. The pilot made a power off approach and when he thought he could glide to the runway, he lowered the landing gear. Aerodynamic drag dissipated what little airspeed remained, and the airplane touched down short of the runway. During the rollout, the airplane struck a raised road berm.

The airplane was examined by an FAA airworthiness inspector from the Salt Lake City, Utah, Flight Standards District Office. The left tank was empty, but 17 gallons of fuel remained in the right tank. The pilot told the inspector that he had run fuel tanks empty before, but the engine always restarted after the fuel selector was switched to a tank containing fuel and the boost pump was switched on. When the boost pump was activated during the test, fuel flowed to the engine fuel control unit, but the right wing (supplying the fuel) was 20 degrees above the horizon (as the airplane sat on a trailer). The inspector noted that the boost pump was mounted on the firewall about 6 inches above the fuel tank and about 2 inches below the engine-driven fuel pump. The pilot (who was not the aircraft builder) told the inspector that blueprints show the boost pump being mounted in the area of the nose wheel well. Although there have been no known mishaps involving fuel starvation on this airplane, other builders have installed a pulse pump at the fuel selector valve because of possible fuel starvation.