Aerofab LAKE LA-4-250 N1401P

Summary

On 9 September 2015 at about 00:48 local time, a Aerofab LAKE LA-4-250 registered N1401P was involved in an accident near Somerset, New Jersey, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 September 2015 at 00:48

Classification

Accident

Location

Somerset, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Somerset Airport (SMQ)

Coordinates

40.6222, -74.6733

Aircraft

Aerofab LAKE LA-4-250

Registration

N1401P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1984

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Somerset → Somerset

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA15FA348

1 person died.

The pilot's attempted 180-degree return to the runway immediately after takeoff in dark night conditions, which resulted in collision with trees and terrain. Also causal was the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection, which resulted in a takeoff with little-to-no fuel on board the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed in dark night conditions without performing a preflight inspection and with an unknown quantity of fuel on board. Surveillance video captured the takeoff, and, about 30 seconds later, a bright light travelled the opposite direction, and descended approximately parallel to the runway into the wooded area of the accident site. There was no fuel, no odor of fuel, and no evidence of fuel spillage at the scene. Examination of the wreckage revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have prevented normal operation, and propeller signatures and angularly-cut wood at the accident site suggested the engine was producing power when it entered the trees. The engine was later placed in a test cell, where it started immediately, accelerated smoothly, and ran continuously without interruption at all power settings. The pilot's most recent logbook entry was for a round trip, 7.45-hour flight 3 weeks before the accident flight. Fuel receipts, performance data, and a partial radar track suggested a 3-hour flight away from his home base where he purchased 45 gallons of fuel to replace the fuel consumed. The return flight was about 4.4 hours in duration, but the pilot's route of flight and the number of takeoffs and landings performed en route could not be determined. Further, the fuel totals found programmed in the digital fuel flow indicator did not correlate to the actual usage of the airplane but rather to a partial fuel-load setting at an interim point of the flight, which could not be explained. The video evidence indicates that the pilot did not complete a preflight inspection before the accident flight. Thus, it is likely that he discovered the airplane's low fuel state at takeoff and performed a turn back to the airport immediately. It is likely that the airplane lost power on takeoff or in the turn, then engine power was restored when the wings were leveled; however, this scenario could not be definitively determined. Further, the pilot was not instrument-rated, and a rapid, steep turn at low altitude in dark night conditions with little or no visual reference greatly reduced the likelihood of a safe return to the runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.