Jerome A Baak CH 601XL N121JN

Summary

On 27 April 2014 at about 15:30 local time, a Jerome A Baak CH 601XL registered N121JN, operated by Baak Jerome A, was involved in an accident near Sumter, South Carolina, 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

27 April 2014 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Sumter, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Sumter Airport (SMS)

Coordinates

33.9869, -80.3711

Aircraft

Jerome A Baak CH 601XL

Registration

N121JN

Category

Airplane

Year built

2012

Operator

Baak Jerome A

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ehrhardt → Sumter

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14CA210

1 person had minor injuries.

The total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the fuel exhaustion was the pilot's failure during the building process to properly determine the unusable quantity of fuel.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that during the building process, he determined the unusable fuel amount in the fuel tanks with them uninstalled in the wings, placed on saw horses in a level attitude, but did not take into account wing dihedral, wing incidence, or pitch attitude. With respect to the accident flight he departed with what he thought was an adequate supply of fuel. When the flight was 3 to 4 miles from his destination with the fuel selector positioned to the right tank, the engine quit due to fuel starvation. He repositioned the fuel selector to the left tank which restored engine power and continued towards the destination airport. About 1 minute later the engine quit again; the fuel gauges at that time indicated 1/8 capacity in each tank. He established best glide airspeed and after realizing he was unable to land at the destination airport, he executed a forced landing in a marsh short of the runway. After touchdown the airplane nosed over and although the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) had activated, the wreckage wasn't spotted until an airplane that was landing flew over at 1645. During rescue of the pilot the right wing was cut off but no fuel leakage was reported. Following recovery of the airplane, the left fuel tank which was not breached did not contain any fuel. Additionally, only a teaspoon of fuel was found in the fuel strainer and the carburetor bowl was dry. Advisory Circular (AC) 90-89A, titled, "Amateur-Built Aircraft and Ultralight Flight Test Handbook" dated May 24, 1995, provides guidance in part for determining unusable fuel amount, and the procedures call for placing the airplane at an angle 5 degrees above the highest anticipated climb angle and to disconnect the fuel line to the carburetor. When the fuel flow stops, the amount remaining in the fuel tank is considered as unusable fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.