Simmons William E AVENTURA 2 N700WS

Summary

On 20 June 2014 at about 19:00 local time, a Simmons William E AVENTURA 2 registered N700WS was involved in an accident near Rockledge, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 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

20 June 2014 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Rockledge, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Rockledge Airport (21FA)

Coordinates

28.3231, -80.6989

Aircraft

Simmons William E AVENTURA 2

Registration

N700WS

Category

Airplane

Year built

2009

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Rockledge → Rockledge

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14LA309

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed during a forced landing following a loss of engine power, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inadequate inspection of the engine, which resulted in a loose ground wire lug on a fuel pump and the subsequent loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was conducting touch-and-go landings on a river. About 300 feet above ground level, the engine began to misfire and subsequently failed. The pilot did not have sufficient altitude to switch fuel pumps and attempt an engine restart, so he chose to conduct a forced landing. During the landing flare, the airplane lost lift, landed hard on the water, and nosed over. Examination of the engine found that a ground wire lug on the No. 1 fuel pump was loose, which caused the ground wire to have intermittent contact with the lead and likely caused the fuel pump to malfunction and the engine to subsequently lose power. The most recent conditional inspection was completed about 10 months before the accident. The pilot, who was a certificated experimental aircraft repairman and conducted maintenance on the airplane, stated that he "must have missed this item on his last inspection."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.