- Date
- June 1, 2020, 10:53 local (14:53 UTC)
- Place
- Gulf Of Mexico
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N619JJabiru J250-SP
- Defining event
- Enroute: Fuel related
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20200601008129A
- Case key
- 101356
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 total loss of engine power due to a fuel leak that could not be identified since the wreckage was not recovered.
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 reported that he was conducting a cross country flight and departed the airport with slightly less than 36 gallons of fuel on board. About 1.5 hours into the flight, he noticed that the fuel tank quantities were dropping rapidly. The engine subsequently lost all power, and he set up for a ditching in the Gulf of Mexico. After ditching, the pilot and passenger were picked up by a U.S. Navy helicopter and transported to a local hospital for observation. The airplane eventually sank and was not recovered. The pilot also reported that the engine consumed about 5.5 to 6 gallons of fuel per hour and he suspected a breach of the fuel system prior to the loss of engine power. The airplane was configured with two wing tanks that gravity fed to a header tank; both tanks fed simultaneously utilizing an "On-Off" fuel selector in the cockpit.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he was conducting a cross country flight and departed the airport with slightly less than 36 gallons of fuel on board. About 1.5 hours into the flight, he noticed that the fuel tank quantities were dropping rapidly. The engine subsequently lost all power, and he set up for a ditching in the Gulf of Mexico. After ditching, the pilot and passenger were picked up by a U.S. Navy helicopter and transported to a local hospital for observation. The airplane eventually sank and was not recovered. The pilot also reported that the engine consumed about 5.5 to 6 gallons of fuel per hour and he suspected a breach of the fuel system prior to the loss of engine power. The airplane was configured with two wing tanks that gravity fed to a header tank; both tanks fed simultaneously utilizing an "On-Off" fuel selector in the cockpit.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N619J
- Reported as
- Jabiru J250-SP
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 457
- Built
- 2007
- Airframe hours
- 290
- Engine
- Jabiru 3300A, 120 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 15, 2019 · 13 hours before
- Departed
- CGC · Crystal River, FL
- Destination
- EYW · Key West, FL
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, Handheld GPS
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
- 66
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- January 15, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 300 in this make and model · 1,355 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- EYW, 22 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 2, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.6 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.