What happened
On January 28, 2002, a Jabiru SK, registration CS-UHU, was conducting a recreational flight. After an initial leg of the flight, the aircraft landed at Santarém for a brief five-minute break. Following the stop, the pilot restarted the engine, which was still warm from the previous flight, and proceeded directly to the takeoff roll toward the south.
Shortly after takeoff, the engine began to fail and eventually stopped. The pilot did not attempt any in-flight engine restart procedures, instead performing an immediate landing on the remaining runway and adjacent terrain. The aircraft sustained significant damage to its landing gear, though the two occupants escaped without injury.
The investigation
The investigation established that at the end of the first flight segment, the pilot had shut down the engine and closed the fuel valve. Upon restarting the engine for the second departure, the engine continued to run normally because the fuel lines and carburetor still contained approximately one liter of residual fuel. Because the pilot did not use a checklist—which was not even available on board the aircraft—the closed position of the fuel valve went undetected. The engine failure occurred once the residual fuel in the system was exhausted, which happened when the aircraft reached an altitude of approximately 50 meters.
Findings
- The engine failure in flight was caused by a lack of fuel in the carburetor because the fuel valve was left in the closed position.
- The fuel valve remained closed due to the pilot's failure to follow proper engine start and pre-takeoff procedures.
- The error went undetected because the pilot did not utilize a checklist during the flight phases.
- The pilot failed to execute any emergency procedures or restart attempts following the engine failure.