Kolb FIRESTAR N7094T

Summary

On 11 December 2020 at about 18:00 local time, a Kolb FIRESTAR registered N7094T was involved in an accident near Durham, North Carolina, 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

11 December 2020 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Durham, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Lake Ridge Aero Park Airport (8NC8)

Coordinates

36.0241, -78.7165

Aircraft

Kolb FIRESTAR

Registration

N7094T

Category

Airplane

Year built

1994

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Durham → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA21LA075

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as the result of a degraded fuel primer check valve.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that about 20 minutes into the flight, at an altitude about 500 ft above ground level, the engine started losing power. The pilot noted no anomalies on the engine monitoring system, but his attempts to increase engine power were unsuccessful, and he chose to conduct a forced landing in a lake. During the landing flare, the wheels contacted the water surface and the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted and submerged. Examination of the airplane following recovery from the lake revealed that the fuel primer bulb was missing a spring on the fuel inlet check valve, which prevented the check ball from seating properly. This likely blocked the incoming fuel and thereby resulted in fuel starvation and the total loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.