James Wiebe BELITE PIPPER N3748

Summary

On 24 May 2018 at about 00:30 local time, a James Wiebe BELITE PIPPER registered N3748 was involved in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and one 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

24 May 2018 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Lake Hood (LHD)

Coordinates

61.1903, -149.9695

Aircraft

James Wiebe BELITE PIPPER

Registration

N3748

Category

Airplane

Year built

2017

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Anchorage

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC18LA038

1 person had minor injuries.

An inadequate fuel supply to the engine, which resulted in a total loss of engine power and subsequent impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he was conducting a postmaintenance flight in the experimental amateur-built airplane in the traffic pattern. While landing, he applied full throttle to go around, but when the airplane was about 150 ft above ground level, the engine lost total power. During the forced landing, the airplane landed long, bounced, descended into a fence, and came to rest inverted, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The engine had been altered from its original state by the addition of an after-market, high-displacement cylinder/piston kit to increase performance and horsepower of the engine. The kit, as installed, replaced the crankshaft, camshaft, engine gaskets, cylinders, and pistons. The pilot stated that he had been discussing with the kit manufacturer a problem with fuel flow to the engine and, thus, altered the fuel supply system with larger fuel lines. No modifications were made to the carburetors. Because the carburetors were not altered, it is likely that the engine was not receiving enough fuel for full power operation, which resulted in a total loss of engine power during the go-around attempt.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.