Reilly Charles W ESCAPADE N45DC

Summary

On 6 March 2018 at about 19:30 local time, a Reilly Charles W ESCAPADE registered N45DC was involved in an accident near Palatka, 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

6 March 2018 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Palatka, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Palatka Muni - Lt Kay Larkin F (28J)

Coordinates

29.6594, -81.6692

Aircraft

Reilly Charles W ESCAPADE

Registration

N45DC

Category

Airplane

Year built

2007

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St Augustine → Palatka

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18LA097

2 people had minor injuries.

The interruption of fuel to the engine during final approach, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, and the pilot's subsequent failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that, while on a 1-mile final approach for landing, about 400 ft above the ground, the engine lost total power. The pilot applied full throttle and enrichened the mixture, but only a momentary return of power occurred before the engine lost power again. The airspeed decreased and the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall and impacted a house and terrain. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures. The left wing fuel tank was empty, the right wing tank contained about 4 gallons of fuel, and the auxiliary tank contained just enough fuel to cover the bottom of the tank; however, there was evidence of fuel spillage at the site and the amount of fuel onboard before the accident could not be determined. Non-volatile memory data recorded during the accident flight revealed a large spike in fuel flow, followed by a 0 rpm reading, which was indicative of a total loss of engine power due to air passing through the fuel line and transducer rather than fuel. It is likely that the fuel flow to the engine was interrupted, but a postaccident examination of the engine and fuel system could not determine what caused the interruption.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.