Pipistrel ALPHA TRAINER N10PU

Summary

On 16 July 2014 at about 01:15 local time, a Pipistrel ALPHA TRAINER registered N10PU, operated by Second Wind Aircraft Services Inc, was involved in an accident near Pompano Beach, Florida, United States. 2 people were 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

16 July 2014 at 01:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Pompano Beach, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Pompano Beach Airpark (PMP)

Coordinates

26.2447, -80.1061

Aircraft

Pipistrel ALPHA TRAINER

Registration

N10PU

Category

Airplane

Year built

2012

Engines

1

Operator

Second Wind Aircraft Services Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Delray Beach → Delray Beach

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA14LA355

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s miscalculation of the fuel quantity requirements, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, during the preflight inspection, he determined that the airplane had 45 percent of its fuel capacity (5.7 of 12.7 usable gallons). He determined the fuel amount by viewing the indicators on the cockpit panel and by "dipping" the tank and noting that the fuel level was just below the halfway mark on the dip stick. He found no water or grit in the fuel. The pilot reported that the flight was intended to be 1 hour long and that, per the airplane's performance criteria, he calculated that the engine would consume 3.6 gallons of fuel during the flight. The pilot took off on the local flight, and, when the airplane was inbound toward his home airport, the engine "abruptly stopped." He then diverted toward a closer airport and attempted to restart the engine without success. While approaching the airport, he made shallow turns to align the airplane with a runway, but the airplane's left wing impacted a tree, and the airplane subsequently impacted the airport perimeter fence. The cockpit GPS indicated that the flight was 0.9 hour long. No fuel was found in the fuel tanks or lines, and no evidence of fuel leakage was found at the accident site.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.