# NTSB LAX08CA249: Fowler SX300, N99F, Cheyenne, WY, July 30, 2008 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: July 30, 2008, 09:30 local (16:30 UTC) - Place: Cheyenne, WY - Coordinates: 41.150001, -104.816665 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.1500&lon=-104.8167&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-descent: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 26, 2008 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 68567 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX08CA249 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/68567/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX08CA249 ## Probable cause Loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Action: incorrect action performance](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Fowler Robert R SWEARINGEN SX300, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015/cases.md?model=0568006), [All aircraft, 1,386 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-descent: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191); cases with it: [Fowler Robert R SWEARINGEN SX300, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md?model=0568006), [All aircraft, 733 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md) - [Enroute-descent: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Fowler Robert R SWEARINGEN SX300, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=0568006), [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: [Fowler Robert R SWEARINGEN SX300, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=0568006), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis At the end of a 2-hour flight the airplane was 3.8 miles from the Cheyenne Airport when the engine began to surge. The pilot overflew the airport in order to troubleshoot the problem. The pilot reported that he was at 135 knots, and the fuel selector was set to the right fuel tank, which had approximately 10 gallons of fuel in it. The surging stopped, and the pilot requested a left downwind for runway 27. Within 1 minute the surging returned, he turned toward the airfield, and the engine lost all power. The pilot maintained 125 knots and performed a dead stick landing on runway 31. The airplane veered off the side of the runway and into flat unprepared terrain and the gear collapsed. The builder of the airplane related to the pilot that the SX300 has very limited wing dihedral, and the ball needs to be kept in the center, or else the fuel pickup would unport. The pilot did not report finding any other anomalies with the airframe or engine. ## Factual narrative At the end of a 2-hour flight the airplane was 3.8 miles from the airport when the engine began to surge. The pilot overflew the airport in order to troubleshoot the problem. The pilot reported that he was at 135 knots, and the fuel selector was set to the right fuel tank, which had approximately 10 gallons of fuel in it. The surging stopped, and the pilot requested a left downwind for runway 27. Within 1 minute the surging returned, he turned toward the air field, and the engine lost all power. The pilot maintained 125 knots and performed a dead stick landing on runway 31. The airplane veered off the side of the runway and into flat unprepared terrain. The builder of the airplane related to the pilot that the SX300 has very limited wing dihedral, and the ball needs to be kept in the center, or else the fuel pickup would unport. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N99F](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N99F), registered now, S/N 012, built 1990 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Fowler SX300 - Registry model: [Fowler Robert R SWEARINGEN SX300](https://openairdocs.org/model/fowler-robert-r-swearingen-sx300) (registry code 0568006) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (registry code 41530, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 12 - Engines: Aero Engines IO-540 reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: John L. Ewing - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: KLUM, Menomonie, WI - Destination: KCYS, Cheyenne, WY - Airport: KCYS, Cheyenne Regional, runway 31, 6,690 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 73; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3; flight hours: 8,300 total, 20 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days, 10 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 290° at 10 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20080730843419A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080730843419A), Jul 30, 2008: Amtr SX300, Cheyenne, WY, Substantial damage. (-23)Aircraft engine started running rough losing power. Pilot could not keep aircraft airborne because of lack of power and had to execute an emergency… 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.