LAX01FA212

The homebuilt experimental airplane was approaching its destination airport after a cross country flight of 3 hours 12 minutes duration when it lost engine power. The airline transport pilot reported to air traffic control that he was not going to make it to the airport and was going to crash. The airplane impacted trees and terrain about 2 miles from the airport. The FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, reported the right fuel tank was empty, the left fuel tank was compromised by impact damage, and the fuel selector was on the left tank. A post accident examination of the engine revealed no preaccident anomalies. Examination of the right wing fuel tank revealed that a required fuel vent was not drilled into the spar. According to the builder of another experimental airplane of this design, the lack of the vent would have made filling the tank problematic as the affected section of the tank had no way to vent, and therefore, it would have been difficult to completely fill the tank, and there would have been no way to confirm how much fuel was in the tank. The owner of the airplane reported he had previously experienced problems getting the fuel tanks to accept the total designed fuel capacity of 80 gallons; however, he and the pilot believed this problem had been fixed. Additionally, a few days prior to the accident, the pilot had taken the airplane to a maintenance facility to correct several discrepancies, one of which was "problems with the fuel quantity indicating system." A mechanic reported that the pilot told him he had been flying for several weeks with neither of the fuel quantity indicators working properly. After examining the airplane, the mechanic told the pilot that the airplane's right fuel quantity sender was not calibrated properly and the left fuel quantity sender was defective and would have to be replaced. The pilot elected to defer the repairs to the fuel quantity indicating system until he arrived at his final destination.

History of flight

On June 16, 2001, at 1625 mountain standard time, a Schultz Lancair IV-P single engine experimental airplane, N424E, was substantially damaged when it collided with trees following a loss of engine power during a visual approach to the Pulliam Airport, Flagstaff, Arizona. The airline transport pilot, who was the sole occupant, received fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by Northwing Aviation, Tarzana, California, under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a positioning flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Ada, Oklahoma, approximately 1312.

The pilot was flying the airplane to the owner in California, and intended to stop in Flagstaff for fuel. During the approach to Flagstaff, the pilot stated on tower frequency that he was going to crash and he was not going to make it. The airplane impacted trees and terrrain about 2 miles northeast of the airport.

Personnel information

The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with an airplane multiengine land rating and commercial priviledges in single engine land airplanes. According to Northwing Aviation, the pilot was a retired airline pilot, and he had accumulated a total of 31,000 hours of flight time, of which 1,000 hours were in Lancair IV-P airplanes.

The pilot also held a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued "repairman; experimental aircraft builder" certificate with a limitation indicating the certificate was valid for inspection of a Lancair IV-P manufactured by the pilot.

Aircraft information

The homebuilt experimental airplane (serial number LIV-011) was built in Chino, California, by a hired builder of Lancair airplanes. The 4-seat pressurized airplane utilized a Teledyne Continental Motors TSIO-550-B1B turbocharged engine.

A review of the FAA's records concerning the accident airplane revealed it was issued a Special Airworthiness Certificate for an experimental category airplane on May 23, 1998. A Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR) issued the Special Airworthiness Certificate.

On November 7, 2000, the owner of the airplane requested another Special Airworthiness Certificate issuance because a major alteration had been conducted on the airplane, which included the addition of an air conditioning system and full paint and upholstery changes. On November 12, 2000, a different DAR issued Experimental Operating Limitations for initial test flights with the additional equipment. Excerpts from the airplane records revealed the airplane completed "the prescribed flight test hours" on December 5, 2000.

According to the owner, he wrote a letter, dated November 20, 2000, to his mechanic requesting specific maintenance be conducted on his airplane. Item number nine on that letter indicated, "the fuel capacity mystery needs to be solved. [Two persons] report that the wings hold L-34.4 and R-33.0. According to the specs there should be more capacity so please see what is wrong and fix this." In that same letter, the owner indicated the accident pilot would be assisting with any repairs. According to the owner, the airplane's fuel capacity should be 40 gallons for each fuel tank, providing a total of 80 gallons of fuel.

On December 20, 2000, the accident pilot flew the airplane from Burbank, California, to Arlington, Washington. The pilot corresponded with the owner following that flight and indicated that the fuel burn was 18 gallons per hour, as opposed to the 21.6 gallons per hour that was displayed on the electronic flight instrument system (EFIS).

From December 20, 2000, to January 8, 2001, the owner corresponded with the mechanic and received updates concerning the listed items in the November 20th letter. According to the owner, the mechanic told the owner, "he had found no problem with the left wing and that the right wing problem was related to blockage in the rib and that he had repaired it so that now the aircraft was able to take a full 80 gallons of fuel. He stated the left wing held 38 gallons and the right wing 40 gallons."

The owner also spoke with the accident pilot on January 8, 2001, and confirmed with him that all of the requested repairs had been taken care of. According to the owner, the mechanic told the pilot that he solved the fuel problem and that "it sounded like some kind of blockage in the right wing was the root of the problem." The pilot told the owner he would test fly the airplane and afterwards, he would drain the right wing and check its fuel capacity.

On January 14, 2001, the pilot reported to the owner that he had verified the right wing held 39.6 gallons of fuel, and that he should be aware that "the last 4 or 5 gallons required that you wait and let the fuel settle in order to get these last few gallons in." The pilot added he had to wait 15 minutes, and reported it was not unlike other airplanes he was familiar with. The pilot provided the owner a fuel receipt, dated January 13, 2001, for 39.6 gallons of fuel.

On January 15, 2001, the accident pilot and the owner flew the accident airplane from Seattle, Washington, to Burbank. While en route at flight level 230, after refueling in Shasta, California, the engine lost power. The owner reported they had just switched from the right fuel tank to the left fuel tank within 2 minutes prior to the loss of engine power. They switched the fuel selector back to the right fuel tank and the engine restarted. The pilot and owner determined they did not have enough fuel to continue the flight and diverted to Livermore, California. Once on the ground in Livermore, they removed the left wingtip and discovered the left fuel vent tube had been crimped. The owner had the crimped section removed, reattached the fuel vent line, and refueled the airplane. They then departed for Burbank and experienced no other anomalies. The pilot commented to the owner that the reason for the loss of engine power was probably the crimped fuel vent line "since it would create suction when fuel started being used and would not allow ample fuel flow."

The owner spoke with the mechanic and told him about the loss of engine power. The mechanic indicated that the vent line more than likely was crimped when he removed and reattached the wingtip to move the airplane in and out of the hangar. The owner asked another mechanic to check the right wingtip for similar damage and was told there was none.

On May 26, 2001, the owner flew with the pilot from Burbank to Kansas City. The owner reported they flew at flight level 230 and the flight was uneventful. The flight lasted 2 hours 39 minutes, and after the flight, they added 50.4 gallons of fuel to the airplane. The pilot told the owner he thought the airplane was using 19.5 gallons of fuel per hour and estimated the fuel endurance was 4 hours. The pilot discussed flight planning and fuel consumption with the owner and advised the owner to plan for 2 gallons of fuel usage for taxi, 7 gallons for climb, and 19 gallons per hour for cruise. The owner indicated that the pilot recommended this after flying the airplane 30 to 40 hours.

On June 12 through the 15th, 2001, the pilot took the airplane to an avionics shop in Charlottesville, Virginia. The pilot wanted to correct problems with "noise in the radios, autopilot wiring, and problems with the fuel quantity indicating system." The mechanic, who dealt with the pilot, reported that the pilot told him he had been flying for several weeks with neither of the fuel quantity indicators working properly. When the mechanic inspected the fuel quantity senders, he found the right sender was out of calibration, and the left sender was putting out a constant high voltage signal and would have to be replaced. According to the mechanic, the pilot elected to have the calibration of the right sender postponed until