Pilot Debrief

INDUS AVIATION INC T-211 THORPEDO near La Porte, IN — 2008-09-18

Final reportCHI08IA294
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Date
2008-09-18
Location
La Porte, IN, USA
Airport
PPO
Aircraft
INDUS AVIATION INC T-211 THORPEDO
Registration
N107JF
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of siphoning from the fuel filler neck and cap. Contributing to the incident were the fuel over-servicing which resulted in the siphoning condition, and the ASTM standards which allowed for the fuel tank filler neck/vent design.

NTSB narrative

The light sport airplane landed at an airport for a fuel stop during a positioning flight. According to the pilot, the airplane departed on the remainder of the positioning flight and "42 [minutes] into [the] flight at [4,500 feet] the engine stopped." The pilot performed a successful forced landing to a soybean field, with no injuries or damage to the aircraft. A postincident inspection of the airplane showed that the fuel gauge indicated 16 gallons of fuel, yet there was no fuel in the fuel tank. It was later discovered that the airplane had been over-serviced with fuel contrary to a service notification warning that a siphoning condition could occur as a result of over-servicing. Following the investigation the manufacturer modified the fuel filler neck and fuel cap and subsequently issued a service bulletin informing owners of the modification. The airplane was certified to ASTM consensus standards that allowed for the airplane's fuel filler neck design.

NTSB coding

  • Fuel exhaustion · Enroute-cruise
View NTSB final report

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