- Date
- May 27, 1991, 16:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lake Placid, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1344ZLarocque, Raymond E. VARI-EZE
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910527017139A
- Case key
- 32879
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
Improper fuel selector position by the pilot-in-command resulting in the total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
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
The plt failed to position the fuel selector from a fuselage tank which supplies fuel to the eng for starting, to the main tanks before takeoff, as required. The flt departed & during cruise flt, the eng quit due to fuel starvation. The plt intentionally stopped the prop but after realizing that the eng quit due to fuel starvation, positioned the fuel selector to the main tanks & initiated a descent to start the eng but was unsuccessful. After touchdown in a field, the nose gear collapsed & the acft came to rest inverted.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1344Z
- Reported as
- Larocque, Raymond E. VARI-EZE
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 847
- Airframe hours
- 930
- Engine
- Continental O-200A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Larocque, Raymond E.
- Registered owner
- Larocque, Raymond E.
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 1990 · 55 hours before
- Departed
- X53 · Clewiston, FL
- Destination
- 2A9 · Peachtree City, GA
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
- 44
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport, Flight engineer, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 4,688 total · 829 in this make and model · 3,905 as pilot in command · 16 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 7 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.