Sunday, April 27, 2014

Zenair CH-601XL Zodiac, N121JN: Accident occurred April 27, 2014 in Sumter, South Carolina

NTSB Identification: ERA14CA210
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, April 27, 2014 in Sumter, SC
Probable Cause Approval Date: 06/18/2014
Aircraft: JEROME A BAAK CH 601XL, registration: N121JN
Injuries: 1 Minor.

NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The pilot stated that during the building process, he determined the unusable fuel amount in the fuel tanks with them uninstalled in the wings, placed on saw horses in a level attitude, but did not take into account wing dihedral, wing incidence, or pitch attitude. With respect to the accident flight he departed with what he thought was an adequate supply of fuel. When the flight was 3 to 4 miles from his destination with the fuel selector positioned to the right tank, the engine quit due to fuel starvation. He repositioned the fuel selector to the left tank which restored engine power and continued towards the destination airport. About 1 minute later the engine quit again; the fuel gauges at that time indicated 1/8 capacity in each tank. He established best glide airspeed and after realizing he was unable to land at the destination airport, he executed a forced landing in a marsh short of the runway. After touchdown the airplane nosed over and although the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) had activated, the wreckage wasn't spotted until an airplane that was landing flew over at 1645. During rescue of the pilot the right wing was cut off but no fuel leakage was reported. Following recovery of the airplane, the left fuel tank which was not breached did not contain any fuel. Additionally, only a teaspoon of fuel was found in the fuel strainer and the carburetor bowl was dry.

Advisory Circular (AC) 90-89A, titled, "Amateur-Built Aircraft and Ultralight Flight Test Handbook" dated May 24, 1995, provides guidance in part for determining unusable fuel amount, and the procedures call for placing the airplane at an angle 5 degrees above the highest anticipated climb angle and to disconnect the fuel line to the carburetor. When the fuel flow stops, the amount remaining in the fuel tank is considered as unusable fuel.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

The total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the fuel exhaustion was the pilot's failure during the building process to properly determine the unusable quantity of fuel.

Advisory Circular (AC) 90-89A, titled, "Amateur-Built Aircraft and Ultralight Flight Test Handbook" dated May 24, 1995, provides guidance in part for determining unusable fuel amount, and the procedures call for placing the airplane at an angle 5 degrees above the highest anticipated climb angle and to disconnect the fuel line to the carburetor. When the fuel flow stops, the amount remaining in the fuel tank is considered as unusable fuel.

 http://registry.faa.gov/N121JN

SUMTER COUNTY, SC (WIS) -

A Sumter man was trying to land his plane at Sumter Airport around noon when he got into trouble and crashed.

In the middle of a swampy grassy field, there's not much left of the single-engine airplane.

"The FAA will come in and do an investigation and determine what caused the crash," said Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis. "At this time, we have no knowledge of what actually caused the crash."

The pilot, in his 70s, was scheduled to land across the street at the airport around lunchtime but he never touched down.

Around 5:30 p.m. the sheriff's department and fire crews finally spotted the plane.

It was upside down, the pilot was entrapped and water was slowly filling into the cockpit.

Dennis said it took several men to lift the plane right side up.

"A combination of all of us -- we were able to travel this almost swamp back here to locate the plane and remove the pilot from the plane," Dennis said.

The victim was transported to Palmetto Health Richland with several bruises and possible some broken bones, Dennis said.

"To have stayed in the plane in the condition he was in over four hours was really traumatic," Dennis said.

Dennis said it's fortunate the plane landed where it did.

"We have several subdivisions -- several housing projects -- near here within 500 to 600 yards of this site," Dennis said.

According to FAA records, the plane is an experimental-amateur built plane manufactured in 2012. 


http://www.wmbfnews.com





























Plane crash outside Sumter Airport leaves pilot trapped for 7 hours 

An experimental single-passenger airplane crashed Sunday morning just outside of Sumter Airport. While reportedly only suffering minor lacerations, the pilot of the aircraft was trapped upside down in his cockpit for nearly seven hours before his plane was spotted and rescue workers could remove him. 

 An experimental single-passenger airplane crashed in swamp area along Brewington Road just outside the Sumter Airport on Sunday morning, leaving the pilot trapped upside down in his cockpit for nearly seven hours.

According to rescue workers, it is thought the airplane crashed while approaching the Sumter Airport runway around 11:30 a.m. The cause of the airplane’s crash is unknown, and the pilot has yet to be officially identified.

The plane came to rest upside down, making both finding the plane and removing the pilot from the plane once it was found difficult for rescuers.

Around 5:30 p.m. – some six hours after the believed time of the crash - rescue workers with the Sumter Fire Department received the call that the crashed plane had been spotted by aircraft searching the area in the swamp about 150 yards south of Brewington Road near Hill Road.

Once firefighters were able to get to the plane, joining search volunteers already on the scene, they began cutting off one of the aircraft’s wings so that the cockpit could be flipped upright and the pilot removed.

Once he was removed from the plane, the pilot was airlifted from the scene to a Columbia hospital for treatment. Rescuers, however, say the pilot was conscious and alert and seemed to have suffered only minor lacerations.

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board were said to be on their way to Sumter on Sunday evening to determine the exact cause of the crash.

See www.theitem.com for future updates.

Injured pilot in Sunday Sumter airplane crash airlifted to Columbia hospital 

A pilot whose single-engine plane crashed about a quarter-mile east of the Sumter airport early Sunday afternoon was extracted from the wreckage and airlifted to Palmetto Health Richland hospital.

“We don’t believe his injuries are life-threatening, but he appears to be in serious or critical condition,” said Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis.

Dennis said it is unknown whether the pilot, who was the plane’s only occupant, had a medical event or whether the plane suffered a mechanical failure.

Dennis said the pilot had taken off from an airport in Colleton County at midday to fly to Sumter. When he didn’t arrive, planes began to search for him.

Sumter fire and rescue units had to cut the pilot out of the plane, Dennis said. Sheriff’s deputies also helped and participated in the initial air search.

There was no word on the identity of the pilot.