Refling RV8 UNREG

Summary

On 6 October 2015 at about 23:30 local time, a Refling RV8 registered UNREG, operated by Charles Refling, was involved in an accident near Bottineau, North Dakota, 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

6 October 2015 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Bottineau, North Dakota, United States

Nearest airport

Bottineau Municipal Airport (D09)

Coordinates

48.8472, -100.4511

Aircraft

Refling RV8

Registration

UNREG

Category

Airplane

Year built

2015

Engines

1

Operator

Charles Refling

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bottineau → Bottineau

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN16LA012

Nobody was injured.

The pilot/builder’s failure to ensure that the fuel line was properly secured, which resulted in fuel starvation and the subsequent total 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/owner had just finished building the unregistered, noncertificated airplane and was conducting the flight to seat the piston rings on the newly installed engine. The pilot reported that, during the flight, he detected the odor of fuel in the cockpit. He continued the flight, and shortly after, the engine power decreased to idle. He continued to fly away from the airport while he tried to regain engine power. The pilot then turned back toward to the airport, and the engine subsequently experienced a total loss of power. The pilot determined that the airplane was not going to be able to reach the airport, so he chose a field for a forced landing. During the landing, the pilot lost directional control of the airplane due to the rough terrain, and the airplane impacted a parked tractor. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the fuel line between the mechanical fuel pump and the fuel injection servo was disconnected. The pilot stated that the engine was delivered with this fuel line installed and that he did not check the tightness of the fuel lines after installing the engine on the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.