Accident Narrative
On June 21, 2008, at 1613 central daylight time, a Flight Design GMBH CTSW, registration N460CT, was substantially damaged after striking a fence and nosing over during a forced landing near Von Ormy, Texas. The pilot, a private pilot, and a passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and the personal flight was conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The cross-country flight originated at Houston (SGR), Texas, at 1430, and was en route to Castorville (T89), Texas.
Pilot's Report
According to the pilot's accident report, he was at 5,000 feet msl and being vectored through San Antonio (SAT) airspace by SAT approach control when the engine began to sputter and then stopped. The pilot was unable to restart the engine, so he moved the propeller to the horizontal position to protect it during touchdown. He selected a good field in level pastureland for the forced landing. While turning onto the base leg, he noticed horses grazing at the beginning of the field and turned on final approach sooner than intended, moving his touchdown point further downfield. Indicated airspeed was 50 mph in the flare, and he lowered the flaps to 40 degrees. After clearing the horses, he retracted the flaps to increase the friction of the brakes on the grassy surface, but this made the pasture short, and the airplane overran the end, striking a wire fence. The accident collapsed the nose gear and buckled the composite structure.
Fuel Management
The pilot admitted that the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion, which he stated could have been avoided by obtaining fuel at the last stop. He noted that the airplane was not equipped with in-flight readable fuel indicators, only a dipstick gauge, making it tricky to utilize the full 34-gallon capacity. He concluded that an accurate fuel gauge and experience with timing and fuel usage at a certain RPM would have solved the fuel management problem, and recommended that the fuel indicator tubes in the wing roots be changed at every annual inspection.