22 Apr 2012: MAYS KITFOX LITE 2 — Stuart Benner

22 Apr 2012: MAYS KITFOX LITE 2 — Stuart Benner

No fatalities • Cedarville, CA, United States

Probable cause

A loss of engine power during cruise flight due to air in the fuel system. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s incorrect maintenance that did not properly secure the fuel lines.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

On April 22, 2012, at 1400 Pacific daylight time, a Mays Kitfox Lite 2, nosed over following a forced landing near Cedarville, California. The airline transport pilot, who was operating the airplane as a sport pilot and the sole occupant, was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.

The pilot, who did not hold a repairman certificate for the airplane or a mechanic certificate, reported that he had performed maintenance on the fuel system of the airplane, including the replacement of fuel lines. Approximately one hour into the flight, the engine lost power. The pilot force landed the airplane in a field and it nosed over. Approximately 14 gallons of fuel was onboard at the time of the accident. The last conditional inspection on the airplane was completed October 30, 2010.

Examination of the airplane by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) representative revealed that the fuel lines were secured with tie wraps. According to a Rotax representative, the tie wraps secured the lines in an oval shape and air can be introduced into the system. No additional mechanical anomalies were identified.

Contributing factors

  • cause Fuel
  • factor Incorrect service/maintenance
  • factor Pilot
  • cause Power plant — Failure

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 010/04kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.