Long EZ N539AD

Summary

On 12 October 2010 at about 23:50 local time, a Long EZ registered N539AD, operated by Allen Dunlap, was involved in an accident near Leesburg, 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

12 October 2010 at 23:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Leesburg, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Leesburg International Airport (LEE)

Coordinates

28.8228, -81.8086

Aircraft

Long EZ

Registration

N539AD

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Allen Dunlap

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Leesburg → Leesburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA11CA018

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he made a go-around after his first approach due to the aircraft traffic in the area. In diverting his attention to monitoring the traffic, he forgot to switch the fuel tank selection. As the airplane turned onto the crosswind leg of the traffic pattern, the engine began to sputter and subsequently experienced a total loss of power. The pilot switched to the other fuel tank in an attempted to restart the engine, but was unsuccessful. With the airplane's altitude decreasing, he decided to ditch in a lake to avoid a housing area. A postaccident inspection by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the airplane incurred substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage; they found no evidence of preimpact mechanical anomalies. The pilot opined that the engine had a loss of power due to fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.