- Date
- September 18, 1994, 11:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Woodville, TX
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N345DHHarris Dragonfly
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 27, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940918028309A
- Case key
- 19164
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
Was fuel starvation. Factors were the jammed float in the fuel sight gage and the lack of suitable terrain.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
A maintenance flight was conducted to check the engine, carburetor, and a new header tank fuel sight gauge. The fuel float indicated the header tank was full; the fuel transfer pump was turned off to check the movement of the fuel float. The engine stopped and would not restart. A forced landing was made into trees. Examination of the sight gage revealed that the float was jammed in the full position.
Factual narrative
On September 18, 1994, at 1130 central daylight time, a Harris Dragonfly homebuilt, N345DH, was destroyed during a forced landing near Woodville, Texas. The private pilot/owner/operator sustained serious injuries. The local personal flight was conducted under visual meteorological conditions.
The following information was obtained from the pilot/operator report. The pilot was on a maintenance flight to check the engine, carburetor, and a new header tank fuel sight gauge. The fuel float in the sight gage indicated the header tank was full; the pilot then shut off the fuel transfer pump to watch for float movement. The engine stopped; the transfer pump was turned back on, but the engine would not restart. Altitude was insufficient to reach clear ground so a landing was made in a wooded area. The airplane came to rest approximately 60 feet above the ground in a tree. Examination of the fuel system by the pilot revealed that the fuel float in the header tank fuel sight gage was jammed in the full position.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N345DH
- Reported as
- Harris Dragonfly
- Category
- Ultralight, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 656
- Airframe hours
- 84
- Engine
- Mosler 82DX, 82 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Harris, James H
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 19, 1994 · 5 hours before
- Destination
- TX
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
- 74
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,927 total · 84 in this make and model · 1,927 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.