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37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
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Attributes | |
ACN | 907262 |
Time | |
Date | 201008 |
Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
Place | |
Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
State Reference | US |
Environment | |
Flight Conditions | VMC |
Light | Daylight |
Aircraft 1 | |
Make Model Name | RV-8 |
Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
Flight Phase | Cruise |
Route In Use | None |
Flight Plan | VFR |
Component | |
Aircraft Component | Fuel System |
Person 1 | |
Function | Pilot Flying |
Qualification | Flight Crew Private |
Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 10 Flight Crew Total 235 Flight Crew Type 20 |
Events | |
Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural FAR |
Narrative:
[I] decided to fly to a nearby airport to refuel the airplane. Performed preflight and looked in both tanks. Fuel was not visible due to being low. [I] drained some fuel out of the sump to check for water and none visible. Checked fuel gauges and they showed 1/4 tank in the right and 1/8 tank in the left. Calculated this to be 7-8 gallons and thought it would be plenty for the 5 minute flight. [I] taxied airplane to the run up area to complete pre-takeoff checks including engine run up and mag checks. Normal take off and climb to 2;000 MSL. While in cruise the engine quit. I set the airplane up for 100 mph and selected a field to land in. I made a radio call to airport traffic letting them know the situation. I turned on the fuel pumped and switched from the right tank to the left tank. The engine started back up. I turned to continue to my planned destination and the engine quit again. I selected a different field and tried to start the engine again. The engine started again and I started to fly back to my departure airport but the engine quit. I realized that I could not make it back to my departure airport. I set up for a straight in approach and landed in a hay field. Only minimal damage happened on the airplane. While sitting on the ground I turned the master switch back on and the right fuel gauge came up off empty and went to 1/8 of a tank; the left tank showed empty. I think the real problem was trusting the fuel gauges to be very accurate and not relying on other visible means. A more thorough check would have revealed that the tanks had much less fuel than originally thought. Also a calculation of the previous flights since filling up would have revealed that the fuel would be spent or very low. What also affected my decision was the fact that I was looking at a very short 5 minute flight; which did not require much fuel. While in the air trying to get the engine to restart; I should have returned back to my departure airport immediately.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: An RV8 pilot departed his airport for a nearby airport to refuel his aircraft. Enroute the engine quit because of fuel starvation and he completed a successful off airport landing.
Narrative: [I] decided to fly to a nearby airport to refuel the airplane. Performed preflight and looked in both tanks. Fuel was not visible due to being low. [I] drained some fuel out of the sump to check for water and none visible. Checked fuel gauges and they showed 1/4 tank in the right and 1/8 tank in the left. Calculated this to be 7-8 gallons and thought it would be plenty for the 5 minute flight. [I] taxied airplane to the run up area to complete pre-takeoff checks including engine run up and mag checks. Normal take off and climb to 2;000 MSL. While in cruise the engine quit. I set the airplane up for 100 MPH and selected a field to land in. I made a radio call to airport traffic letting them know the situation. I turned on the fuel pumped and switched from the right tank to the left tank. The engine started back up. I turned to continue to my planned destination and the engine quit again. I selected a different field and tried to start the engine again. The engine started again and I started to fly back to my departure airport but the engine quit. I realized that I could not make it back to my departure airport. I set up for a straight in approach and landed in a hay field. Only minimal damage happened on the airplane. While sitting on the ground I turned the master switch back on and the right fuel gauge came up off empty and went to 1/8 of a tank; the left tank showed empty. I think the real problem was trusting the fuel gauges to be very accurate and not relying on other visible means. A more thorough check would have revealed that the tanks had much less fuel than originally thought. Also a calculation of the previous flights since filling up would have revealed that the fuel would be spent or very low. What also affected my decision was the fact that I was looking at a very short 5 minute flight; which did not require much fuel. While in the air trying to get the engine to restart; I should have returned back to my departure airport immediately.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.