WPR15LA123

The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to determine how much unusable fuel was in the experimental amateur-built airplane's fuel tanks. The airplane took off with a full header tank and only 1 gallon of fuel in each wing tank. After takeoff, the pilot climbed the airplane to about 3,500 ft, and, about 3 miles from the airport, he switched from the header tank to the right fuel tank. Shortly after, the engine suddenly stopped, and the propeller stopped turning. The pilot quickly switched back to the header tank. Since the airplane was not equipped with a starter, the pilot initiated a dive to attempt to get the propeller spinning but was unsuccessful; he could not restart the engine. The pilot leveled the airplane to attain its best glide speed and proceeded toward a road. He subsequently landed the airplane on a rocky riverbank short of the road. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the engine or airframe that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot further reported that he should have considered the possibility that the engine might stop and that he should have flown the airplane at a higher altitude and remained closer to the airport where he could have made a dead-stick landing if necessary.

On March 3, 2015, about 1215 Pacific standard time, an amateur built Goudie Fisher Classic, N417LG, experienced a complete loss of engine power and the pilot initiated a landing in a field near the Redlands Municipal Airport (REI), Redlands, California. The pilot (sole occupant) sustained minor injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from REI at about 1145. The pilot reported that he had completed the 40 hours of flight test for the newly built experimental airplane. The purpose of the flight was to determine how much unusable fuel was in the two wing tanks and the single header tank. The pilot took off on the full header tank and with only 1 gallon of fuel in each wing tank. The pilot climbed to about 3,500 feet, and when about 3 miles away from the airport, he switched from the header tank to the right fuel tank. After a short time, the engine suddenly stopped and the propeller stopped turning. He quickly switched back to the header tank, but the engine did not restart. Since the airplane was not equipped with a starter, the pilot initiated a dive to attempt to get the propeller spinning, but was unsuccessful. The pilot leveled the airplane to best glide speed and proceeded towards an old paved road. The airplane landed short of the road and onto a rocky riverbank. The pilot further reported that he should have considered the possibility of the engine stopping and should have been at a higher altitude and remained closer to the airport where he could have made a dead stick landing at the airport if necessary. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the engine or airframe that would have precluded normal operation.