MIA99LA251

According to the pilot, his intention was to fly one or two laps around the airport landing pattern, and his fuel distribution at departure was full auxiliary tanks, 10 gallons in the right main and 5 to 6 gallons in the left main. He took off with the fuel selector on the right main and twenty minutes later, on approach to the airport, the engine surged. He switched the fuel selector to an aux tank and switched on the boost pump, but could not regain power to the engine. He made a forced landing to a parking lot/driveway, damaging the airplane and a residential fence. The pilot characterized the occurrence as a case of running the tank dry at too low an altitude to switch tanks and regain engine power.

On September 11, 1999, about 1325 eastern daylight time, a Bellanca Super Viking BL-17-30, N6676V, registered to Century Restorations and Sales, Inc., operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed on approach to Athens/Ben Epps Airport, Athens, Georgia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the airline transport-rated pilot and two passengers were not injured. The flight originated from the same airport about 20 minutes before the accident.

According to the pilot, he and his son and stepson intended to fly, "one or two laps around the pattern." His fuel distribution for the takeoff was full auxiliary tanks, about 10 gallons in the right main, and 5 or 6 gallons in the left main. After takeoff and a left downwind turn from runway 09, he requested an extended downwind leg to overfly downtown and the stadium. Following the overfly that lasted about 20 minutes and while established on approach for runway 09, at about 2 miles out, he experienced engine surging. He switched his fuel selector to an auxiliary tank, and activated his boost pump, and the engine smoothed out for 4 or 5 seconds before it resumed the surging. Engine power available was not enough to sustain flight to the runway, and he attempted a forced landing to a parking lot/driveway about 1/2 mile short of the runway. The pilot later characterized the occurrence stating that he ran out of fuel in the right main tank, switched to an aux tank, and didn't have enough time or altitude for the engine to restart.

According to an FAA inspector, once the airplane impacted the parking lot, it slid for about 340 feet, tearing off the right wing and horizontal stabilizer, and damaging a residential fence. Examination of the fuel distribution aboard revealed the left auxiliary was 1/2 full, right auxiliary was destroyed, left main contained a trace amount and nothing usable, and the right main contained about 2 to 3 inches. The fuel selector was found on the right auxiliary position, and the ground showed evidence of fuel spill from that tank.