Loehle P5151 N151RG

Summary

On 17 March 2006 at about 14:10 local time, a Loehle P5151 registered N151RG was involved in an accident near Lakeland, Florida, 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

17 March 2006 at 14:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Lakeland, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

South Lakeland Airport (X49)

Coordinates

27.9361, -82.0439

Aircraft

Loehle P5151

Registration

N151RG

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lakeland → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA06LA066

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's delay in initiating landing flare during a forced landing following a total loss of engine power. A factor was the lack of correct venting of the carburetor float bowl.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The engine lost power shortly after takeoff, and the pilot said he "waited about 1 second too long" before flaring. The airplane landed hard, collapsing the left main landing gear and shearing off the left wing. The fuselage broke in half behind the cockpit. The Rotax 582 UL engine was later disassembled and examined. Numerous discrepancies were observed but most notably was the required factory vent holes were not in the carburetor vent tubes, and the vent tubes were less than 50% of the effective area required to vent the float chambers. Full power could not be achieved during a functional test. After removing the fuel vent tubes from the carburetor float bowl, the engine was restarted and full power was achieved without difficulty.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.