Birchler Boyd EAGLE 540 N34BJ

Summary

On 10 August 2014 at about 21:30 local time, a Birchler Boyd EAGLE 540 registered N34BJ, operated by Billy Werth Airshows, LLC, was involved in an accident near Standish, Maine, 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

10 August 2014 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Standish, Maine, United States

Coordinates

43.0000, -70.0000

Aircraft

Birchler Boyd EAGLE 540

Registration

N34BJ

Category

Airplane

Year built

2007

Engines

1

Operator

Billy Werth Airshows, LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Frenchville → Sanford

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14LA378

1 person had minor injuries.

The total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination of the engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he departed on a cross-country flight in the experimental, amateur-built airplane with each fuel tank (one main fuel tank, one fuselage auxiliary fuel tank, and one upper wing fuel tank) filled to capacity, for a total of 51 gallons of fuel onboard. About 1 hour 50 minutes into the flight, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot's efforts to restart the engine were unsuccessful, so he maneuvered the airplane toward a road. During the landing, the pilot could not maintain the appropriate airspeed for a power-off landing, and the airplane subsequently impacted the ground hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and bottom wing. An examination of the accident site revealed that the fuel tanks had not been breached, and no visible signs of fuel and no fuel odor were observed. The fuel system was designed to plumb fuel from the upper wing tank directly into the main fuel tank through a drain valve; the engine was receiving fuel from the main fuel tank at the time of the engine power loss. During postaccident examination, both the main and the auxiliary fuselage fuel tanks were found void of fuel; the upper wing fuel tank was found almost full. The pilot reported that, at times, the upper wing fuel tank would drain slowly or not at all into the main fuel tank; however, postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no mechanical anomalies or malfunctions that could have precluded normal operation. According to performance data provided by the pilot, the main fuel tank should have had about 7 gallons of fuel remaining at the time of the loss of power without any supplemental fuel from the upper wing tank. The reason for the main fuel tank being devoid of fuel could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.