ERA16LA151

The private pilot had recently purchased the accident airplane and was planning a cross-country flight to an airport several hours away. Before departing, the pilot flew around the airport traffic pattern with the airplane's previous owner and received a briefing from the previous owner about its operation, fuel consumption, and endurance. Specifically, the previous owner advised him that he typically used 2 hours as a maximum flight leg time; the airplane had a 16-gallon fuel capacity and consumed about 6 gallons of fuel per hour, so a 2-hour flight leg would leave about 4 gallons of fuel remaining for about a 30-minute reserve. The previous owner advised the pilot that they had already used some fuel and that he likely would not have enough fuel to reach his intended destination airport, which was about 2 flight hours away, with an adequate fuel reserve. The pilot stated that he would look for a fuel stop before his intended destination and departed. The airplane subsequently impacted terrain while maneuvering in the vicinity of a runway at an airport just off the direct course between the departure airport and the intended destination airport. The airplane had been airborne for about 2 hours 26 minutes. Examination of the airplane at the accident site revealed that the fuel system was intact and absent of fuel. Further examination of the airplane's engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Given this information, it is likely that the pilot had exhausted the airplane's fuel supply, which resulted in a total loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing while attempting to reach the runway at the intermediate airport.

On April 8, 2016, about 1105 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Sonex, N97GR, was substantially damaged during a forced landing while on approach to Wayne County Airport (JES), Jesup, Georgia. The private pilot was seriously injured. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the cross-country flight that departed Vero Beach Municipal Airport (VRB) Vero Beach, Florida, at 0820.A family member stated that the pilot did not remember any of the events leading up to the accident nor did he remember any of the events after. The pilot had just purchased the airplane, and according to the airplane's previous owner, prior to the accident he examined the airplane with the pilot, and explained everything he knew about its operation, performance, and maintenance. On the day of the accident, the pilot and the previous owner conducted a preflight inspection and the pilot asked the owner to fly around the airport traffic pattern with him a few times. The previous owner stated that they conducted 3 stop-and-go landings at VRB. After the third landing, the pilot said that he was satisfied and ready to depart. The previous owner asked the pilot where he planned to stop for fuel, and he replied he planned to stop at Vidalia Regional Airport (VDI), Vidalia, Georgia, which was about 2 hours away. The previous owner advised him that he typically used 2 hours as a maximum flight leg time and that the airplane had a 16 gallon fuel capacity and consumed around 6 gallons of fuel per hour, and that generally 2 hour flight legs leave about 4 gallons of fuel remaining for at least a 30 minute reserve. The previous owner also pointed out that one should never rely completely on fuel gauges, no matter how accurate. He told the pilot that they had used some fuel during the flight that morning, and that he likely would not have enough to make VDI with an adequate reserve. The pilot said he realized that and would look for a fuel stop prior to VDI. Later that day, the JES airport manager received a report that an airplane had crashed adjacent runway 29. He confirmed the registration number and contacted the authorities. Vandalia Regional Airport was located about 290 nautical miles northwest of VRB. Wayne County Airport was located about 10 nautical miles northeast of a direct course line between VRB and VDI, and about 250 nautical miles from VRB. Postaccident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the fuselage of the airplane was crushed. The cockpit section of the airplane was separated from the fuselage. The fuel system was not breached, and no fuel was discovered in the wing tanks or the header fuel tank. An examination of the engine revealed that there was impact damage on the bottom of the case. The engine mount was bent forward and was crushed against the flywheel. Thecarburetor was separated from the intake manifold, and the air filter was crushed. The oil system was intact, and the oil dipstick an oil quantity up to the fill mark. Due to impact damage the engine could not be test run. The spark plugs were removed, and the electrodes were gray in color. The crankshaft was rotated by hand and compression was observed on all cylinders. The valve covers were removed and when the crankshaft was rotated, valve train continuity was observed on all rocker arms. The distributors were not damaged, and the rotor turned when the distributor was rotated. Due to the magneto ring damage the distributors could not produce spark. The airplane was equipped with a MGL Avionics Stratomaster Ultra-X recorder monitoring system. Download and examination of the data from the unit revealed that it did not capture data relevant to the accident flight. The airplane was also equipped with an Appareo Stratus device , which began recording at VRB about 0816. The data showed that the airplane departed VRB about 0839 and proceeded uneventfully until the groundspeed reached near zero around 1104 while maneuvering over runway 6/24 at JES. Over the final 10 seconds of the flight, the recorded groundspeed decreased from about 75 knots to below 30 knots, and the GPS altitude decreased from about 250 to 0 feet.