- Date
- August 2, 2015, 17:40 local (21:40 UTC)
- Place
- West Union, SC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Prior to flight
- Aircraft
- N556TWStol JA30 Superstol
- Defining event
- Prior to flight: Fuel contamination
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 5, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20150802016279A
- Case key
- 91700
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
A loss of engine power while maneuvering due to water contamination in the fuel.
Findings · 2
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
The pilot stated that he and the passenger were nearing the conclusion of a local flight when the engine began to "sputter and run rough." The engine momentarily ran smooth before it began to run rough a second time, followed by a total loss of power. The pilot maneuvered the airplane for a forced landing, and stated that engine power was restored just prior to impact with trees and terrain. The airplane came to rest upright, and sustained substantial damage to both wings and the empennage. During a postaccident wreckage examination, a 1-quart fuel sample was drained from the airplane, and about half of the sample was water. The pilot stated that prior to the accident flight, he had mistakenly fueled the airplane from a container of contaminated fuel.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that he and the passenger were nearing the conclusion of a local flight when the engine began to "sputter and run rough." The engine momentarily ran smooth before it began to run rough a second time, followed by a total loss of power. The pilot maneuvered the airplane for a forced landing, and stated that engine power was restored just prior to impact with trees and terrain. The airplane came to rest upright, and sustained substantial damage to both wings and the empennage. During a postaccident wreckage examination a 1-quart fuel sample was drained from the airplane, and about half of the sample was water. The pilot stated that prior to the accident flight, he had mistakenly fueled the airplane from a container of contaminated fuel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N556TW
- Reported as
- Stol JA30 Superstol
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- JA294-03-13
- Built
- 2014
- Airframe hours
- 370.9
- Engine
- Rotax 912ULS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Stol LLC
- Registered owner
- Stol LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · April 20, 2015
- Departed
- N/A · Walhalla, SC
- Destination
- N/A · West Union, SC
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- March 1, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- KCEU, 7 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 28, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.4 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.