WPR23LA272

The pilot detected the odor of fuel in the cockpit shortly after taking off. He turned the fuel boost pump off to alleviate the fuel smell. The fuel smell remained, and the engine surged and lost power. The pilot turned the fuel pump back on and switched fuel tanks to restart the engine. The engine did not restart so he performed a forced landing to a highway. The airplane hit a sign and the landing gear collapsed during the landing, resulting in substantial damage to both wings. During postaccident examination of the airplane a fuel leak was found in a fitting where the fuel line passes through the firewall to the engine. The connection at the fitting was tight, but abrasion damage was found to the fitting threads when the fuel line was disconnected. Maintenance was performed on fuel-related engine components about three months before the accident, but it was not determined if the fuel line to the damaged fitting was manipulated at that time. The accident is consistent with the engine losing total power due to fuel starvation resulting from a fuel leak that interrupted fuel flow to the engine. The leak resulted from the damaged threads on the fuel line fitting; the damage to the fittings likely occurred at an undetermined time during prior maintenance.

On July 17, 2023, about 0755 Pacific daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Glasair III, N196G, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Pahrump, Nevada. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported the preflight was normal and the airplane had 42 gallons of fuel onboard before takeoff. Shortly after taking off from runway 15 at Calvada Meadows Airport (74P), Pahrump, Nevada, the pilot detected a strong odor of fuel in the cockpit. He subsequently turned the fuel boost pump off to alleviate the fuel smell. The fuel smell remained, and the engine surged and then lost power. The pilot turned the fuel pump back on and switched fuel tanks to restart the engine. The engine did not restart so he performed a forced landing to a highway. The airplane hit a sign and the landing gear collapsed during the landing, substantially damaging both wings. The pilot reported that he thought the loss of engine power resulted from a fuel leak. A postaccident examination was conducted on the airplane. The auxiliary fuel tank was filled with water, the firewall fuel line was disconnected from the fuel/air control unit, and the line was capped. The fuel boost pump was activated and the pump was heard operating. Liquid was observed dripping from the fuel line at the firewall fitting on the engine side of the firewall. The connections to the fitting were secure. The fuel lines were disconnected from the fitting and abrasion damage was noted to the threads on the engine side of the fitting (Figure 1). Abrasion damage was not evident on the cockpit side threads of the fitting. Figure 1 – Fuel Line Fitting A review of the airframe and engine maintenance logbooks for the year before the accident showed that on April 18, 2023, the engine-driven fuel pump, fuel servo, and “fuel servo attach gasket” were replaced. Additional, non-fuel system engine maintenance was also performed on that date. It was not determined if the fuel line to the thread-damaged firewall fuel fitting was disconnected or reconnected when that work was performed.