SEA96LA117

During an approach to land, the engine lost power on base leg. Subsequently, the pilot landed short of the airport runway, and the aircraft struck trees. The pilot reported that he took off with 22 to 24 gallons of fuel and flew for 30 minutes before the accident at an estimated 5.5 to 6.5 gallon per hour burn rate; a fuel slip indicated the aircraft received 6.3 gallons of fuel before the flight. FAA investigators found 2 to 2 1/2 inches of fuel in the bottom of the main tank forward compartment and no fuel in the main tank rear compartment. Also, they found no mechanical problems with the engine. Fire department personnel switched the aircraft's fuel selector valve from 'MR' (main rear) to 'OFF' at the accident scene. The experimental aircraft was not equipped with fuel gauges. No evidence of a current biennial flight review, aircraft condition inspection, or medical certificate was found.

On June 8, 1996, at approximately 1745 Pacific daylight time, a Head Pitts S-1C, N7BH, was substantially damaged when it landed and struck trees approximately 2,000 feet short of runway 34L at Paine Field, Everett, Washington, following a loss of engine power. The aircraft was being operated under 14 CFR 91 on a local personal flight from Paine Field. The private pilot of the amateur-built, single-seat, experimental-category airplane received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed.

The pilot reported that he took off from Paine Field at about 1715 with 22 to 24 gallons of fuel on board. Records of Fliteline Services Inc. of Paine Field, which sells aviation fuel at the airport, indicate the aircraft was serviced with 6.3 gallons of fuel between about 1500 and 1600 on the day of the accident. An individual from Fliteline Services reported to the FAA: "This fuel went into the rear tank. The [forward] tank was full, I was told, as was the rear tank." The pilot went on to state in his accident report: "Fuel tanks topped by Fliteline Services truck prior to departure....Approx[imately] 1730 [time] pilot sensed very slight transitory/[intermittent] vibration. Engine running 2450/2500 RPM with no RPM drop or power loss....At this RPM, in level flight, experience has shown 5.5-6.5 gph fuel burn. [The aircraft is] not equipped with fuel [gauges]....Engine lost power on base. Unable to reach runway threshold on final; [the aircraft] landed short of [runway 34L]...." The airplane struck one or more trees during the forced landing. A witness to the accident reported that although the aircraft "went end over end" after ground contact, there was no smell of fuel at the accident site.

Photos taken by FAA inspectors at the accident site showed one propeller blade bent back about 30 degrees at mid-span and the other bent back about 10 degrees at approximately 3/4 span. Neither propeller blade exhibited any chordwise scratching, leading edge gouging, or torsional twisting. A post-accident examination by FAA investigators did not reveal any mechanical deficiencies in the Lycoming O-360-A1A engine, which had a pressure carburetor installed. The FAA investigators reported that in a dip check of main tank fuel levels, which they performed with the airplane in a tail-low attitude, the main tank forward compartment (capacity approximately 10 gallons) was observed to contain fuel in approximately the bottom 2 1/2 inches of the tank, and no fuel was observed in the main tank rear compartment (capacity also about 10 gallons; not interconnected with the forward tank compartment.) The local fire department reported to the FAA inspectors that they had switched the fuel selector valve from "MR" to "OFF" at the accident site. The fuel selector valve has five positions consisting of "OFF", "MF" (main forward), "MR" (main rear), "C" (common), and "I" (inverted).

An individual who stated that he owns an aircraft whose hangar adjoins the accident aircraft's hangar at Paine Field reported in a telephone interview with the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) on June 19, 1996, that on two separate occasions, about 2 to 2 1/2 months prior to the accident, he heard the accident pilot instructing fuel truck drivers "not [to put] too much fuel" into his airplane. This individual stated that the accident pilot watched the fuel transfer closely during those refuelings.

Numerous documentation discrepancies on the part of the pilot were noted during the accident investigation as follows. The pilot did not provide any information on his accident report regarding his most recent biennial flight review (the last update to the pilot's certificates in the FAA airman registry was in 1984.) Also, although he submitted a copy of a third-class FAA medical certificate dated June 20, 1996 (12 days after the accident,) FAA records indicated that the pilot's most recent medical certificate as of the accident date was a third-class medical certificate issued on May 22, 1992. The pilot did not indicate the date of the aircraft's last inspection on his accident report; and, although he indicated that the aircraft was on a "continuous airworthiness" maintenance program and had last received a "continuous airworthiness" type of inspection, the most recent entries on copies of aircraft and engine logbooks submitted by the pilot had been made in 1982. The pilot claimed that he was a co-owner of the aircraft to FAA inspectors, but was not listed as a registered owner in the FAA aircraft registry. FAA inspectors also reported that the pilot was unable to furnish current pilot, medical, airworthiness, or registration certificates to them.