Robert Trembly JA20 HIGHLANDER N743BT

Summary

On 20 May 2021 at about 18:00 local time, a Robert Trembly JA20 HIGHLANDER registered N743BT, operated by Trembly Robert, was involved in an accident near Central City, Kentucky, 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

20 May 2021 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Central City, Kentucky, United States

Coordinates

37.2939, -87.1233

Aircraft

Robert Trembly JA20 HIGHLANDER

Registration

N743BT

Category

Airplane

Year built

2019

Engines

1

Operator

Trembly Robert

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bowling Green → Mt. Vernon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA21LA228

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s failure to properly secure the left wing fuel cap before flight, which resulted in a 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 had just purchased fuel at a self-serve gas pump prior to departure on a cross country flight. About an hour after he departed, the engine stopped producing power and he made a forced landing to a soybean field. The airplane’s nose gear collapsed, and the airplane flipped over on to its back resulting in substantial damage to the left and right wings. The pilot reported that following the accident, the left-wing fuel cap was missing and that neither fuel tank contained any fuel. While the pilot said that he replaced both fuel caps after he fueled the airplane, the left wing fuel cap was later found next to the gas pump where he pumped the fuel. A functional test of the cap revealed that it fit securely to the left-wing fuel port. As a result, it is most likely that the pilot failed to properly install the left-wing fuel cap after refueling the airplane, which resulted in loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion in-flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.