Giger Frank R NIEUPORT II N112GV

Summary

On 17 August 2019 at about 17:42 local time, a Giger Frank R NIEUPORT II registered N112GV was involved in an accident near Talladega, Alabama, 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

17 August 2019 at 17:42

Classification

Accident

Location

Talladega, Alabama, United States

Coordinates

33.4961, -86.2217

Aircraft

Giger Frank R NIEUPORT II

Registration

N112GV

Category

Airplane

Year built

2016

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bessemer → Talladega

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA19TA254

1 person had minor injuries.

A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion after the pilot inadvertently kicked a fuel line during turbulence, which resulted in a forced landing into trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The sport pilot filled his experimental amateur-built airplane with 10 gallons of fuel before the cross-country flight. During the 55-minute flight, the airplane used about 3 gallons of fuel. During the return flight, the pilot climbed the airplane to 5,000 ft mean sea level to avoid "bad" turbulence. Shortly thereafter, the pilot noticed the fuel gauge was indicating 4 gallons and quickly fell to 0 gallons before the engine lost all power. The pilot made a forced landing on top of the trees bordering a road with traffic then collided with the terrain adjacent to the road, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane’s left wing and fuselage. Postaccident examination revealed that the fuel line to the sump, which was installed underneath the instrument panel between the rudder pedals, was broken. During the turbulence, the pilot likely inadvertently kicked the fuel line with his steel-toe boots, shearing it off at the fuel line connection barb, resulting in fuel exhaustion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.