What happened
On July 12, 2004, a homebuilt Glass Goose, registration EC-ZIC, departed from Cuatro Vientos Airport for a local flight. During the flight, the aircraft was observed flying at a low altitude over a residential area in Alcorcón. Witnesses noted that the engine noise increased and the aircraft's altitude changed before it began a descent toward a nearby depression in the terrain.
The aircraft impacted the ground at the bottom of a ravine. The impact was severe enough that the left side of the pilot's seatbelt attachment detached from the fuselage. Because the pilot was not wearing the shoulder harnesses, they were ejected from the cockpit and died as a result of the accident. The aircraft was destroyed, though no fire occurred.
The investigation
The CIAIAC investigation focused on the engine's performance and the aircraft's configuration. Investigators examined the fuel system, including the electric and mechanical fuel pumps and the fuel selector valves, finding them to be functional. The investigation also looked into the aircraft's maintenance and the pilot's experience.
Notably, the investigation found that the nose gear well cover was missing from the wreckage. Additionally, while the right upper fuel tank contained a significant amount of fuel, the left upper tank was found to be nearly empty, with no evidence of structural damage that would have caused such a depletion following the impact.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was a progressive loss of engine power that resulted in a complete engine shutdown.
- The subsequent emergency landing attempt was unsuccessful due to high aerodynamic drag caused by the missing nose gear well cover.
- It is highly probable that the engine failure was caused by the exhaustion of fuel from the left upper tank, which had been selected during taxi, takeoff, and climb.
- The pilot had limited solo experience in this specific aircraft type and had performed very few solo flights in EC-ZIC.
- The aircraft was operating under a special provisional airworthiness certificate for flight testing purposes.