Extra EA300 N19AM

Summary

On 14 August 2019 at about 14:25 local time, a Extra EA300 registered N19AM, operated by Aviation Performance Solutions, LLC, was involved in an accident near Mesa, Arizona, 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

14 August 2019 at 14:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Mesa, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

33.2833, -111.5736

Aircraft

Extra EA300

Registration

N19AM

Category

Airplane

Year built

1997

Engines

1

Operator

Aviation Performance Solutions, LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mesa → Mesa

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR19LA218

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor’s operation of the airplane outside of the manufacturer’s limitations, which resulted in fuel starvation and a partial loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was an inoperative electric fuel boost pump.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and student pilot were maneuvering the airplane as part of an upset prevention and recovery training curriculum. The flight instructor reported that the airplane lost partial engine power as he completed a rolling maneuver demonstration. The flight instructor immediately switched the fuel selector valve from the WING tank position to the ACRO/CENTER (acrobatic) fuel tank position; however, he was unable to restore full engine power and subsequently made an off-airport landing during which the airplane sustained substantial damage. Postaccident onsite examination of the airplane revealed that the acro/center fuel tank contained approximately 13 gallons of avgas. The left-wing tank contained trace amounts of avgas and the right-wing tank contained approximately 6 gallons of avgas. Further examination of the airplane revealed that the electrically driven fuel boost pump, which the flight instructor reported was on during the accident flight, was inoperative. It would be used, in part, for emergencies and inflight restarts following an engine failure. The inoperative boost pump was removed and replaced with a segregate boost pump. The engine was then started and developed continuous power at varied throttle positions between idle to full power. The flight manual states that aerobatic maneuvers must be accomplished with the fuel selector in the ACRO/CENTER (acrobatic) fuel tank position. The accident sequence is consistent with a partial loss of engine power likely due to an interruption of fuel flow while the flight instructor was performing aerobic maneuvers with the fuel sector in the WING tank position. It is likely that the fuel unported from the wing tanks, which resulted in fuel starvation and a partial loss of engine power. The inoperative electric fuel boost pump contributed to the flight instructor's inability to restart the engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.