# NTSB ERA20LA295: Aeronca 11AC, N86002, Nebo, NC, August 22, 2020 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: August 22, 2020, 17:35 local (21:35 UTC) - Place: Nebo, NC - Coordinates: 35.663612, -81.888053 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.6636&lon=-81.8881&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute: Fuel related](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 101847 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA20LA295 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/101847/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101847 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA20LA295 ## Probable cause A leak in the main fuel tank that resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid level (probable cause); cases with it: [Aeronca 11AC, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=0191102), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) - [Fuel system: fuel storage](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01022810): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Failure (probable cause); cases with it: [Aeronca 11AC, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01022810/cases.md?model=0191102), [All aircraft, 60 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01022810/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute: Fuel related](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190) (defining event); cases with it: [Aeronca 11AC, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190/sequence.md?model=0191102), [All aircraft, 361 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190/sequence.md) - [Enroute: Loss of engine power (partial)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342); cases with it: [Aeronca 11AC, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md?model=0191102), [All aircraft, 1,858 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341); cases with it: [Aeronca 11AC, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=0191102), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Aeronca 11AC, 16 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=0191102), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot was hired to transport the airplane to another state. Prior to departure, both the main and auxiliary fuel tanks were topped with fuel (minus 1 gallon) and the pilot departed using fuel from just the main tank. About 45 minutes into the flight, the engine began to run rough, and the pilot reported smelling a strong odor of fuel in the cockpit. The pilot was unable to maintain altitude and performed a forced landing to a highway. The airplane was substantially damaged during the landing. Postaccident examination of the airplane’s fuel system revealed the main tank, which was gravity-fed from the aft fuel tank, was intact and empty of fuel. About 3.5 gallons of fuel was emptied from the aft tank. When fuel was added to the main tank, fuel was immediately observed to be leaking from the lower left-hand seam of the tank. Blue fuel stains were also observed around the area of the leak. The accident is consistent with the engine losing power due to fuel starvation as a result of a leak in the main fuel tank. ## Factual narrative On August 22, 2020, about 1735 eastern daylight time, N86602, an Aeronca 11AC airplane, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Nebo, North Carolina. The pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot was hired to transport the airplane to another state. In preparation for the long flight, he topped the main and auxiliary fuel tanks with fuel (though a gallon of fuel was spilled in the overall fueling process). He then departed utilizing fuel from the 15-gallon main tank. About 45 minutes into the flight, the engine began to run rough, and the pilot said he could smell a strong odor of fuel in the cockpit. He applied carburetor heat and pumped the throttle several times, but to no avail. The pilot was unable to maintain altitude and made a forced landing to a busy highway, during which time the engine lost total power. After the airplane touched down on the highway it impacted a guardrail resulting in substantial damage to the airframe. Examination of the airplane’s fuel system revealed the main fuel tank was intact and empty of fuel and about 3.5 gallons of fuel was drained from the aft tank. The fuel system was configured so that the aft fuel tank gravity fed to the forward tank through the cockpit fuel selector valve. The forward tank fed directly to the engine without flowing through the fuel selector valve. Therefore, when the fuel selector valve was placed to the ON position, it allowed fuel to flow from the aft tank to the forward tank by gravity. The inside of the main tank, which was located between the cockpit and engine firewall, was visually inspected with a flashlight, and no obvious anomalies were noted. The fuel finger screen was clean. Fuel was added to the tank to check for leaks. A considerable fuel leak was immediately observed at the lower left-hand seam of the tank. Blue fuel stains were also observed around the area of the leak. Examination of the rest of the fuel system revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N86002](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N86002-2023-05-20), registration cancelled 2023-05-20, S/N 11AC-421, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Aeronca 11AC (No Series) - Registry model: [Aeronca 11AC](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-11ac) (registry code 0191102) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental A&C65 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (registry code 17003, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 11AC-421 - Year built: 1946 - Airframe hours: 2054 - Engines: Continental Motors A65-8 65 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, May 3, 2020 - Departed: SVH, Statesville, NC - Destination: GLY, Clinton, MO - Equipment: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 60; injuries: minor; flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review February 21, 2020; seat: left; flight hours: 3,500 total, 5 in this make and model, 3,000 as pilot in command, 60 in the last 90 days, 20 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 180° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 84 °F, dew point 68 °F - Altimeter: 30.04 inHg - Observed at: MRN, 20 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20200822013149A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200822013149A), Aug 22, 2020: Aeronca 11AC, Nebo, NC, Substantial damage. Pilot was ferrying the aircraft for the new owner who had recently purchased the aircraft. The trip was planned for two days starting from klhz (louisburg, NC)… ## Docket (6 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 15, 2022, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101847. 68.3 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 3.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11570361&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB-form_Redacted-Rel.pdf - NTSB record of conversation - pilot (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 95 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11577758&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20ROC%20-%20Pilot%20(b)-Rel.pdf - NTSB wreckage examination summary (item 3, PDF, 3 pages, 37 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11569675&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20Wreckage%20Examination%20Summary-Rel.pdf - Fuel receipt (item 4, PDF, 1 page, 77 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11570138&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=N86002%20fuel%20receipt%208-22-20_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigative photographs (item 5, PDF, 2 pages, 2 photos, 624 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11570848&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photo%20Array-Rel.pdf - NTSB video of main fuel tank leak (item 6, MP4, 64.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11570934&FileExtension=MP4&FileName=Video%20of%20Main%20Tank%20Fuel%20Leak-Rel.MP4 From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.