Van's RV6 N327WC

Summary

On 26 April 2023 at about 00:35 local time, a Van's RV6 registered N327WC was involved in an accident near Eaton, Ohio, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 April 2023 at 00:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Eaton, Ohio, United States

Coordinates

39.7439, -84.6366

Aircraft

Van's RV6

Registration

N327WC

Category

Airplane

Year built

2020

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Moraine → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

ERA23LA208

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s inadequate fuel management, 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 of the experimental amateur-built airplane purchased it the day before the accident. After the purchase, the pilot completed two flights in the airplane uneventfully. The next day, during the third flight, the engine lost all power and the airplane nosed over in a field during a forced landing, coming to rest inverted. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that both fuel tanks were absent of fuel and there was no evidence of fuel spillage at the accident site. No evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane’s automotive conversion engine were observed. When asked after the accident how much fuel was onboard when the airplane was delivered, and how much (if any) was added to it, the pilot responded that he did not know. The pilot believed that during a previous flight he had started with around 35 gallons and that 8 to 10 gallons should have been onboard at the time of the accident based on the airplane’s fuel quantity gauges. The previous owner stated that the airplane was delivered with approximately 3 gallons in the right-wing fuel tank and 10 gallons in the left-wing fuel tank. Based on this information, it is likely that the pilot overestimated the fuel quantity onboard the airplane, and had based that estimate on fuel quantity gauge indications that may have been inaccurate. This subsequently resulted in fuel exhaustion and the total loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.