Czech Sport Aircraft A S SPORTCRUISER N565L

Summary

On 7 June 2022 at about 23:47 local time, a Czech Sport Aircraft A S SPORTCRUISER registered N565L was involved in an accident near Hillsboro, Oregon, 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

7 June 2022 at 23:47

Classification

Accident

Location

Hillsboro, Oregon, United States

Nearest airport

Portland-Hillsboro (HIO)

Coordinates

45.5510, -122.9609

Aircraft

Czech Sport Aircraft A S SPORTCRUISER

Registration

N565L

Category

Airplane

Year built

2013

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Seattle

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR22LA203

Nobody was injured.

A missing fuel filler cap O-ring, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to water contamination in the fuel.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Shortly after takeoff, having reached an altitude of between 100 to 200 ft above ground level, the airplane’s engine lost total power. The pilot then switched from the left to the right fuel tank and verified that the fuel pump was on. With limited time to troubleshoot and at an altitude too low to deploy the ballistic recovery parachute, he performed a forced landing directly ahead. The airplane struck a fence and sustained substantial damage. The airplane had been parked outside and not flown for about 6 weeks before the accident. During this time, it had been moved from its usual paved tie-down location to a temporary grass tie-down location and, several rain showers had passed through the area. Following the accident, 6 ounces of water were found in the left (takeoff) fuel tank, and the entire fuel system was found to be contaminated with water. Examination revealed that the water likely entered the left tank through the fuel filler cap, which was missing its O-ring seal. Although the pilot drained fuel from the left-wing sump before engine start, he may not have observed any water as the airplane was parked on an uneven grass surface, which may have resulted in the water settling away from the sump drain. Another possibility is that so much water was present that the pilot’s sump container was full of only water, which he misidentified as fuel rather than the globules of water typically observed during sumping operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.