# NTSB SEA93LA174: Brauch Glasair, N365WB, Blanding, UT, August 7, 1993 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 7, 1993, 14:20 local (20:20 UTC) - Place: Blanding, UT - Coordinates: 37.569412, -110.320518 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.5694&lon=-110.3205&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 2 fatal - Status: Completed, report August 1, 1994 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 41747 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA93LA174 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/41747/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA93LA174 ## Probable cause THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER RESULTING FROM INADEQUATE MAINTENANCE INSPECTION BY THE PILOT, A LEAK FROM LOOSE FUEL SYSTEM LINE FITTINGS, AND FUEL EXHAUSTION. A FACTOR RELATING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE ROUGH/UNEVEN TERRAIN. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, cruise - fuel system,line fitting - loose (cause) - maintenance,inspection - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - fluid,fuel - leak (cause) - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (cause) - Forced landing, descent - emergency - In flight collision with terrain/water, landing - flare/touchdown - terrain condition - rough/uneven (contributing factor) ## Analysis THE PILOT DEPARTED DENVER WITH FULL FUEL AND AFTER 2:11 HOURS IN FLT, HE CALLED THE FAA SALT LAKE CENTER BY RADIO TO REPORT HE WAS OUT OF GAS AND GOING DOWN. A SEARCH WAS INITIATED AND THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED ON ROUGH/UNEVEN DESERT TERRAIN. AN EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED LOOSE FITTINGS ON THE MAIN FUEL LINE, WITH EVIDENCE OF FUEL LEAKS IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND ON THE LOWER FUSELAGE. ## Factual narrative On Saturday afternoon, August 7, 1993, at 1420 mountain daylight time, a Brauch Glasair, N365WB, registered to the pilot, impacted terrain 43 miles west southwest of Blanding, Utah, during an emergency forced landing. There was no flight plan filed for the personal cross country flight to Las Vegas, Nevada, conducted under 14 CFR 91 in visual meteorological conditions, that departed Denver, Colorado on August 7, 1993, at 1209. The airline transport rated pilot, Mr. Walter Brauch, and his wife, Fritzie Brauch, were fatally injured in the accident. The aircraft was destroyed. There was no fire. The pilot broadcast a distress call, received by the FAA Salt Lake ARTCC, that the aircraft was out of fuel and he was going down. A search was initiated and the wreckage was located about 1200 MDT, August 10, 1993, in remote rugged desert terrain. Mr. Jerry Pekin, a pilot who built and owned a Glasair aircraft, reported in a telephone interview that he had assisted his friend, the pilot, in building N365WB. He said the 34 gallon main fuel tanks specified in factory plans had been modified to hold at least 40 gallons and that the total fuel capacity of the aircraft, including the six gallon header tank, though never actually tested, was about 46 gallons. He said the pilot had determined the aircraft fuel consumption to be 10 gallons per hour in normal operation. Fuel records indicated the aircraft was topped off with 21 gallons of fuel on the day of the accident before the pilot departed on the flight. The control tower records indicated the aircraft departed the Centennial Airport at 1209 MDT and the last recorded radio transmission from the aircraft was at 1420 MDT, an elapsed time of 2:11 hours. An examination of the wreckage by an aircraft mechanic revealed there were eight loose fuel line connector fittings in the aircraft fuel system, and fuel stains on the engine firewall and lower fuselage aft of the loose fitting. The electric fuel boost pump switch in the wreckage was in the on position. The pilot's family reported he had not maintained a logbook after he retired as an airline pilot in 1977 and his flight time could not be determined. He wrote on the application for his last FAA medical certificate that he had 30,000 hours total flight time. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N365WB](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N365WB-2013-06-07), registration cancelled 2013-06-07, S/N SN-365, built 1992 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BRAUCH GLASAIR - Registry model: [Brauch Walter GLASAIR](https://openairdocs.org/model/brauch-walter-glasair) (registry code 05655JL) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG](https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (registry code 99999) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 365 - Airframe hours: 83 - Engines: LYCOMING IO-360-A1B 200 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Brauch, Walter G. - Registered owner: Brauch, Walter G. - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, October 9, 1992 - Departed: APA, DENVER, CO - Destination: LAS, LAS VEGAS, NV ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 76; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; toxicology performed; flight hours: 30,000 total, 83 in this make and model, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 200° at 13 knots - Visibility: 40 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 12,000 ft broken - Temperature: 75 °F, dew point 52 °F - Observed at: BCE, 84 nm away ## 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 19930807028329A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19930807028329A), Aug 7, 1993: Amtr GLASAIR, Blanding, UT, Destroyed, 2 fatal. Engine quit en route after topping fuel tanks. Crashed in rough terrain. Fuel for 4HRS. Fuel line connectors loose. 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.