Ronald R Russell RV-6 N655VT

Summary

On 30 April 2006 at about 20:05 local time, a Ronald R Russell RV-6 registered N655VT was involved in an accident near Death Valley, California, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 April 2006 at 20:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Death Valley, California, United States

Nearest airport

Furnace Creek Airport (L06)

Coordinates

36.4511, -116.8719

Aircraft

Ronald R Russell RV-6

Registration

N655VT

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Death Valley Na → Blythe

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX06LA153

1 person died.

a fuel starvation induced loss of engine power due to a likely vapor lock condition in the fuel lines.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane lost engine power during the takeoff initial climb, and nosed over during the ensuing forced landing. The accident pilot radioed that he was having fuel problems and attempted to land just south of the airport. The airplane touched down in soft sand and nosed over. The recovery crew that retrieved the wreckage reported that both fuel tanks contained a substantial amount of fuel. An inspection of the airplane was performed. Trace amounts of fuel were found in the fuel system between the electric fuel pump and the fuel distributor. No fuel was found in the fuel distributor. The electric fuel pump was inoperative when tested. An operative electrical fuel pump and fuel source was connected to the airplane and the engine was started with no difficulties, but because of the damaged propeller, the engine was not run at full power. A magneto check was performed and found to be within the normal range. The right wing fuel tank had an inverted fuel pick-up and the left wing fuel tank had a standard pick-up. Both pick-ups were clean with no debris and free of blockage. The airplane was equipped with an Airflow Performance electric fuel pump, in addition to the engine driven fuel pump. According to the manufacturer of the electric fuel pump, an optional fuel purge system kit that would allow the pilot to purge hot fuel from the fuel lines with cooler fuel to help prevent vapor lock was available. The accident airplane was not equipped with the fuel purge system. The accident airplane's fuel system was installed so if the electric fuel pump became inoperative and the pump was not blocked, the engine driven fuel pump would be able to draw fuel out of the fuel tanks. A representative of the fuel pump manufacturer stated that the fuel pump could run dry for about 1 to 2 minutes before it would fail due to lack of lubrication.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.