Flight History
On April 10, 2010, about 1735 mountain daylight time, a Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam P2002 Sierra, N797TS, experienced a complete loss of engine power on final approach to Bolinder Field-Tooele Valley Airport, Tooele, Utah. The private pilot was executing a forced landing when the airplane collided with a fence several hundred feet short of runway 35. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the pilot reported no injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Salt Lake City about 1710 and was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
According to the pilot, the preflight inspection revealed no anomalies. About 25 minutes into the flight, while approaching the uncontrolled airport, the pilot extended the downwind leg due to inbound traffic. After performing the before-landing checklist, which included activating the electric fuel pump, the pilot joined the final approach leg when engine power was suddenly lost. He retracted the wing flaps and attempted to achieve best glide speed, but the airplane was too far from the runway to glide successfully. During the glide, restart attempts were unsuccessful. Both fuel tank selectors were in the "on" position at the time of power loss. Engine power briefly returned after a few seconds but was lost again. The pilot then focused on a forced landing. The airplane impacted rough terrain and fence poles, which punctured the lower leading edge of both wings and breached the fuel tanks. The pilot turned off the master electric switch, repositioned the fuel tank selectors to off, and exited the airplane.
Pilot Information
The National Transportation Safety Board investigator interviewed the pilot on April 29 and May 4, 2010. The pilot had learned to fly in the accident airplane and accumulated a total of 277 flight hours in it, with about 4 hours in the preceding 90 days.
Aircraft Information
The special light sport airplane was manufactured in 2007 and equipped with two integral wing fuel tanks and a 100 horsepower Rotax 912ULS engine. Fuel was supplied via electric and engine-driven pumps. Normal cruise fuel consumption was 4.5 to 5.0 gallons per hour. At the accident date, total airframe, engine, and propeller time was about 394 hours. The last 12-month condition/100-hour inspection was completed on January 15, 2010, at 390 hours. Maintenance logbooks and manufacturer bulletins showed no outstanding items, and the pilot reported no prior system or engine anomalies.
Post-Accident Examination
Airplane operation records indicated that on January 18, 2010, about 21 gallons of fuel were added, filling the tanks to 392.19 hours Hobbs time. No additional fuel was added before the accident flight. After recovery, fuel was observed in the wing tanks and wing-to-engine fuel lines. The gascolator was broken and impact-damaged. The Hobbs meter read 394 hours at the time of the accident. Based on the pilot's report, the airplane contained about 15 gallons of fuel at departure (8 gallons left, 7 gallons right), with gauges indicating half full each. The operator's handbook specified a total capacity of 26.4 gallons (26.15 usable) per tank. The NTSB calculated about 2 hours of engine operation since last refueling, consuming up to 10 gallons, leaving an estimated 16 gallons. An FAA inspector supervised a functional test: the engine was plumbed to an auxiliary fuel source, started and stopped three times, and ran normally with no leaks. Throttle and magnetos checked satisfactorily. The inspector found no evidence of any airworthiness issues that would preclude normal operation.