Wyder Robert G MARQUART MA-5 N79RW

Summary

On 23 September 2021 at about 15:15 local time, a Wyder Robert G MARQUART MA-5 registered N79RW was involved in an accident near Waycross, Georgia, United States. One person was 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

23 September 2021 at 15:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Waycross, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Waycross -Ware County Airport (AYS)

Coordinates

31.2044, -82.3956

Aircraft

Wyder Robert G MARQUART MA-5

Registration

N79RW

Category

Airplane

Year built

2014

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ormond Beach → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA21LA382

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadequate fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power on approach due to fuel starvation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the experimental, amateur-built airplane reported that he fueled the airplane 4 days prior to the long cross-country flight and entered 24 gallons of useable fuel into his fuel computer prior to takeoff. While enroute, the pilot switched from the main fuel tank to the wing fuel tank and the engine lost all power. The pilot switched back to the main fuel tank and the engine regained power. He had not used the wing fuel tank for some time and suspected fuel contamination in that tank; however, he forgot to reset his fuel computer from 24 gallons to 16 gallons of useable fuel to account for 8 gallons in the wing tank that would not be available. During final approach to the destination airport, at low altitude, the engine lost all power due to fuel starvation. During the forced landing, the airplane became entangled in powerlines. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the left wing. The inspector did not observe any preimpact mechanical malfunctions, nor did the pilot report any. The pilot added that in retrospect, he should have done a pretakeoff runup on the wing tank as he had not used that tank in a while. Additionally, he should have made an intermediate fuel stop once he realized that he would not be able to use the fuel in his wing tank. The reason for the failure of fuel to feed from the wing tank was not determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.