Van's RV7 N712RL

Summary

On 29 September 2017 at about 17:30 local time, a Van's RV7 registered N712RL was involved in an accident near Itasca, Texas, 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

29 September 2017 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Itasca, Texas, United States

Coordinates

32.1169, -97.1397

Aircraft

Van's RV7

Registration

N712RL

Category

Airplane

Year built

2004

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Longmont → Hillsboro

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17CA371

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadequate preflight planning and improper in-flight decision-making, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during his preflight inspection, he perceived that both fuel tanks were full. Based on previous flights, full fuel tanks allowed for about 5 hours of flight endurance. About 4 hours after departure, the pilot noticed a low fuel quantity on the cockpit gauges but continued the flight toward the planned destination airport. Several minutes later, the engine lost power, and the pilot performed a forced landing to a field. The airplane impacted a power line and nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel tanks contained no usable fuel. Following the accident, the pilot stated he should have landed earlier to refuel. He also discovered that a co-owner had not filled the fuel tanks after the previous flight, as he had expected.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.