ZENITH CH750 near Oregon City, OR — 2021-10-02

Final reportWPR22LA002

Date: 2021-10-02
Location: Oregon City, OR, USA
Airport: OG20
Aircraft: ZENITH CH750
Registration: N99HX
Category: Airplane
Highest injury: Minor
Fatalities: 0
Phase of flight: Approach

Probable cause

The total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, following an uneventful local flight, as he turned onto final approach to land, the passenger told him that she smelled something burning, and shortly after the pilot did as well. The pilot stated that, a few moments later, the sound of the engine changed for about 5 seconds, followed by a total loss of engine power. The pilot realized he was unable to make it to the airport so he initiated an off-airport landing. During the landing sequence, the airplane impacted trees and terrain before it nosed over and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported that before the flight, he refueled the left wing fuel tank with 4 gallons of automotive fuel, to a level of fuel between 7 and 10 gallons, and had noted the right wing contained 2 to 4 gallons of fuel. Additionally, he reported that he did not visually verify the fuel quantity in the right fuel tank, however, he did “dip” the left fuel tank. The pilot reported that the right fuel tank was empty after the accident and the left fuel tank was leaking “slightly.” Postaccident examination of the recovered airplane revealed the fuel valves between the header tank and the wings were in the “off” position, and the fuel valve from the header tank to the electronic fuel pump was in the “on” position. The header fuel tank was empty. About a teaspoon of fuel was removed from the mechanical fuel pump. No fuel was observed within either carburetor float bowl. A fuel source was attached to the engine inlet fuel pump, and the engine was successfully run. Each main fuel tank can hold a maximum of 24 gallons of fuel of which 22 gallons are usable. No evidence of any preexisting mechanical malfunctions were observed with the recovered engine or airframe.