Johnson Barron T LANCAIR 360 N360AS

Summary

On 29 December 2008 at about 19:00 local time, a Johnson Barron T LANCAIR 360 registered N360AS, operated by Charles M. Sublett, was involved in an accident near Owensboro, Kentucky, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 December 2008 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Owensboro, Kentucky, United States

Coordinates

37.6606, -87.2569

Aircraft

Johnson Barron T LANCAIR 360

Registration

N360AS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Charles M. Sublett

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tulsa → Owensboro

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09LA114

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the fuel selector valve cotter pin and the inoperative main (center) fuel tank gauge.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the first 20 minutes of flight, the fuel selector was set to the main (center) tank. The pilot then switched the selector to the left wing tank, and then to the right tank during the flight. Approximately 20 minutes after switching back to the left tank, the engine lost power. While performing the emergency checklist the fuel selector was found to move freely with little resistance. In a statement written to the National Transportation Safety Board, the pilot stated that he knew the main tank fuel gauge was not working and that if it were operational it would have alerted him to the fuel selector valve control failure. Examination of the airplane revealed that the center fuel tank had a capacity of 10 gallons of fuel and it was not breached. This tank was found empty of fuel. Further inspection of the fuel selector valve and handle revealed that a cotter pin used to secure the handle to the shaft which turns the valve was sheared. This resulted in movement of the fuel selector handle not changing the position of the valve and remaining on the main fuel tank position.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.