Rhea KR-2 N77KR

Summary

On 18 December 1999 at about 20:10 local time, a Rhea KR-2 registered N77KR was involved in an accident near Moreno Valley, California, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 December 1999 at 20:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Moreno Valley, California, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Rhea KR-2

Registration

N77KR

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chino → Riverside

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX00LA052

1 person had minor injuries.

An undetected fuel leak from an improperly manufactured right tank into the internal wing spaces, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion after 4 hours of flight. During the forced landing, the aircraft impacted a tree, a building, and a parked car. During recovery, the wings were removed from the airplane and tipped to drain the remaining fuel. Approximately 1/2 quart of fuel was drained from the left wing tank, and about 10 tablespoons were drained from the right wing tank. The purolator/filter contained only droplets of fuel. The pilot reported that following recovery of the wreckage, he discovered a leak in the composite fuel tank. Fuel was soaking into the foam backing. He estimated that 8 to 10 gallons of fuel were lost during the 4-hour flight. The pilot said the accident could have been prevented by paying more attention to the fuel tank construction during manufacture of the wing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.