Synopsis
On July 5, 2015, about 1740 eastern daylight time, an Aviat Aircraft Inc. A1C-180 Husky, N354BM, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Cincinnati, Ohio. The private pilot, who was also the registered owner, was not injured. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Clermont County Airport (I69) in Batavia, Ohio, at 1730, with a destination of Cincinnati Municipal Airport (LUK) in Cincinnati.
Accident Details
According to the pilot, after practicing stop-and-go short field landings at I69, he departed for LUK. After departure, he turned the airplane left, climbed to 1,800 ft mean sea level (about 950 ft above ground level), reduced power to 40% to 45% for slow flight, and activated the Lean-of-Peak assist feature of the JPI EDM930 Engine Instrument. While leaning the mixture and watching for the first cylinder to reach peak exhaust gas temperature, a Fuel Flow Sensor malfunction indicator light appeared on the EDM930. The pilot enriched the mixture, but the sensor malfunction indication continued, and the engine lost power. After attempting engine restart procedures and applying carburetor heat, the engine did not respond. The pilot then set up for a forced landing to a golf course. During the landing roll, the right wing tip and right elevator struck a tree, resulting in structural damage. The airplane came to rest upright, and the pilot evacuated uninjured.
Investigation Findings
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the engine and airframe at the accident site. No mechanical or fuel delivery problems were found. All engine controls functioned properly, and oil quantity was normal. The fuel tanks were not damaged, and there was no indication of fuel leaking at the accident site.
The aircraft was equipped with two 26-gallon (25 usable) fuel tanks, one in each wing. According to the pilot, the aircraft burned about 10 gallons per hour, and the last fuel addition was 13.4 gallons the day before the accident. The aircraft had accumulated about 3.1 hours of flight time since the refueling.
At the accident site, the JPI EDM930 system was powered up and indicated 17.6 gallons of fuel remaining. Per the EDM 930 pilot's guide, the pilot is required to perform a "first time set up," which includes calibrating the fuel flow transducer. This calibration directly affects how the EDM computes remaining fuel. This task was never accomplished, providing the pilot with an erroneous "fuel remaining" indication.
After fuel was drained from the left wing, approximately 2 gallons were recovered from the tanks. The pilot reported that he did not physically check the wing tank fuel quantity tubes in the cockpit or dip the fuel tanks to verify fuel quantity. Additionally, the pilot stated that he was "preoccupied" with trying to obtain the "rich to peak" fuel burn on the EDM930 while the engine began to lose power, and he may not have noticed the engine losing power until it actually quit.