Fahey William J CH750 CRUZER N415WF

Summary

On 2 June 2022 at about 19:11 local time, a Fahey William J CH750 CRUZER registered N415WF was involved in an accident near San Antonio, Texas, 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

2 June 2022 at 19:11

Classification

Accident

Location

San Antonio, Texas, United States

Coordinates

29.5080, -98.7993

Aircraft

Fahey William J CH750 CRUZER

Registration

N415WF

Category

Airplane

Year built

2021

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN22LA229

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the fuel starvation was a faulty experimental fuel gauge.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the experimental, amateur-built airplane reported that the airplane contained about 13 gallons of fuel prior to takeoff for a 1-hour local flight. After flying for about 30 minutes, the pilot switched from the left to the right fuel tank. Shortly thereafter, the engine lost power. The pilot thought he accidently ran out of fuel; however, the header fuel tank gauge indicated a full tank. Due to the airplane’s low altitude at the time of the engine power loss, the pilot executed a forced landing to a mowed wheat field which was surrounded by a low-profile fence. During the landing, the airplane contacted the fence and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and rudder. The airplane’s fuel system consisted of a fuel tank in each wing that gravity fed to a header tank. The header tank contained two internal fuel pumps that delivered fuel to the engine driven fuel pump. The header tank was equipped with a “Motor Meter Racing Fuel Level” gauge. A postaccident examination and a functional test of the engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A functional test of the fuel gauge determined the gauge was inoperative.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.