Rutan VARI EZE N2ZE
9 August 2020 · Kelso Valley, California, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 9 August 2020 at about 15:00 local time, a Rutan VARI EZE registered N2ZE was involved in an accident near Kelso Valley, California, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 15:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Kelso Valley, California, United States
- Coordinates
- 35.4478, -118.0719
- Aircraft
- Rutan VARI EZE
- Registration
- N2ZE
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1984
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- California City → California City
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- WPR20LA259
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to secure the fuel cap, 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 departed with 16 gallons of fuel (about 3 hours of flight time) on board for the local flight. About one hour after the departure, the engine experienced a loss of engine power. He switched the fuel selector from the wing tank position to the center tank position, and the engine regained power for 30 seconds before it lost power again. The pilot manipulated the fuel selector two more times only to experience an additional 20 seconds of regained engine power. The pilot then executed an emergency landing during which the fuselage was substantially damaged. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the left-wing fuel cap was not secured to the fuel tank and both wing fuel tanks were empty. The pilot’s failure to secure the left wing fuel cap likely created a leak in the fuel system which would have exhausted the fuel supply sooner than the pilot planned for and resulted in a loss of power.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Rutan VARI accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 May 1987 | Rutan VARI-EZE | Renton, Washington, United States | Richard Hess | Minor injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 May 2020 | Cessna 172 | Fresno, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 6 Feb 2020 | Cessna 208 | Eureka, California, United States | Redding Aero Enterprises Inc | Minor injuries | - |
| 19 Aug 2020 | Arrow-Falcon Exporters UH-1H | Coalinga, California, United States | Guardian Helicopters Inc | Fatal | 1 |
| 4 Oct 2020 | Evolution REVO | Hawthorne, California, United States | Joe K Audette | Fatal | 1 |
| 10 Feb 2020 | Beechcraft 36 | Avalon, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 3 Feb 2020 | Boeing 747 412 | Los Angeles, California, United States | Kalitta Air | No injuries | - |