ERA12LA252

The experimental amateur-built airplane, with a carburetor-equipped engine, was airborne for about 1 hour under clear skies when the pilot attempted to land at the departure airport. While at reduced power, and during a traffic pattern turn from base leg to final, the engine lost power. The pilot deployed the airplane's parachute system, and the airplane settled into trees. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no preexisting mechanical anomalies, and an estimated 1 gallon of fuel was found in each fuel tank. A representative of the kit manufacturer examined photographs of the fuel tanks with the fuel remaining and indicated that the amount there was not enough to unport the tanks during a turn. He also noted that if the tanks did unport, there still would have been 3 to 4 minutes of fuel in the lines at cruise power plus additional fuel in the carburetor bowl. Temperature and dew point at the time of the accident were conducive to serious carburetor icing at glide power. The pilot did not check carburetor icing probability before the flight, and the engine was not equipped with carburetor heat.

On March 24, 2012, about 1015 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built New Kolb Aircraft Company Mark III Classic, N528DJ, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees while approaching Deland Municipal Airport (DED), Deland, Florida. The certificated private pilot and the passenger were not injured. The local personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to the pilot, the airplane departed DED at 0930, and after a local flight, entered the traffic pattern for runway 23. When he rolled the airplane out of the turn from a left base leg to final, the engine sputtered, then quit. The pilot realized that he didn't have enough time for an engine restart, nor would he be able to glide the airplane to the runway, so he activated the airplane's parachute system. The system deployed; and the pilot felt the airplane slow as it descended into the trees. The airplane came to rest nose-down, several feet off the ground. The responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector noted that the airplane descended into trees just outside the airport perimeter. The airplane sustained damage to the right wing, fuselage and tail. Once recovered and level, the inspector noted about 1 gallon of fuel in each of the two 5-gallon plastic fuel tanks located just aft of the pilot and passenger seats. No evidence of fuel contamination was seen in either fuel tank, which had fuel pickup tubes at the inboard rear corner of each tank, with openings ½ to ¾ inches above the bottom of each tank. The pickup lines were connected via a "tee" fitting, and the single line was connected to the engine. The inspector then attempted to run the Jabiru 2200A engine. During the first attempt, the engine started and developed some power. The engine was then shut down to reconnect two spark plug leads that were observed hanging loose from tree impact. A restart was then attempted; the engine started "immediately and ran smoothly," with subsequent throttle movements of the throttle resulting in "immediate response and acceleration." No preexisting mechanical anomalies were noted with the airplane. Photographs of the partially-filled fuel tanks were forwarded to a representative of the kit manufacturer, who stated that the engine should not have lost power due to the amount of fuel remaining. Fuel pick-up was ¼ inch above the bottom of the tank, and with 2 inches of fuel in the bottom of each tank, unporting would require 60 degrees' angle of bank. He also noted that at cruise power, if the tanks had become unported during a turn, there still would have been enough fuel in the lines to last 3 or 4 minutes, plus there would have been additional fuel in the carburetor bowl. Weather, recorded at the airport at 1035, included clear skies, winds from 200 degrees true at 8 knots, temperature 23 degrees C, dew point 19 degrees C. An FAA carburetor icing probability chart indicated "serious icing at glide power." When askedif he had used carburetor heat, the pilot, who was not the builder, did not indicate that he had checked for carburetor icing conditions, but did state that the airplane was not equipped with carburetor heat.