SEA94LA176

After a taxi, run-up, and takeoff in temperatures of 95 plus degrees, the aircraft experienced a total loss of power during an eight to ten minute climb to cruise altitude. It was later determined that the fuel line in the engine compartment had been routed in a manner that allowed it to absorb excessive heat, resulting in vaporization of fuel in the line.

On July 10, 1994, about 1835 Pacific daylight time (PDT), a Canadian registered experimental Bambrick Corben Ace, CFKEZ, collided with a fence during a forced landing near Arlington, Washington. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant of the aircraft, was not injured, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage. The personal pleasure flight, which departed Arlington Municipal Airport, Arlington, Washington, about 10 minutes before the accident, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. The aircraft was on a VFR flight plan en route to Abbotsford, British Columbia, and there was no report of an ELT activation.

According to the pilot, after starting the engine, he taxied his aircraft to the active runway in 95 plus degree heat. He then sat at the end of the runway for at least five minutes waiting for other aircraft to depart from the fly-in he was attending. After his takeoff, the pilot climbed at full power for about eight to ten minutes. While still climbing, the aircraft experienced a loss of power four separate times. The first three times the engine restarted on its own, but after the fourth loss of power, the engine didn't restart.

After the loss of power, the pilot attempted a forced landing in a nearby field. His touchdown was successful, but the field was too small to stop the aircraft prior to impacting a perimeter fence.

According to both the owner/builder and the FAA inspector who responded to the accident, the fuel line in the engine compartment was routed near the exhaust stack, allowing it to absorb excessive heat. They both felt that absorption of this heat, combined with the high ambient air temperature, resulted in vaporization of fuel in the line. The pilot said that he planned to reroute the line to minimize this problem in the future.