Pilot Debrief

GOUDIE FISHER CLASSIC near Redlands, CA — 2015-03-03

Final reportWPR15LA123
Sign in to save
Date
2015-03-03
Location
Redlands, CA, USA
Aircraft
GOUDIE FISHER CLASSIC
Registration
N417LG
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadequate planning for the test flight, which resulted in insufficient altitude and no suitable place to land in the event of an emergency.

NTSB narrative

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.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Pilot should have considered engine stopping and remained closer to the airport.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 1 docket document
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents1

Related mishaps