What happened
On August 16, 2000, at approximately 16:30 local time, a Bellanca Citabria 7-GCBC, registration EC-CYC, was performing a commercial advertising flight involving the towing of a banner. The aircraft was based at Ibiza Airport in the Balearic Islands.
After completing the advertising maneuver, the pilot initiated a return to the base airport. Upon approaching the airfield, the pilot requested and received authorization to land. While performing the final approach to runway 24, the engine stopped running. The pilot subsequently executed an emergency landing in a field located approximately 300 meters from the threshold of runway 24. The terrain was hard and relatively smooth, allowing the aircraft to touch down and come to a stop without significant impact.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the cause of the engine shutdown during the approach phase. Following the emergency landing, a technical examination of the aircraft was conducted to determine why the engine had ceased operation.
Findings
- The primary cause of the engine failure was fuel exhaustion.
- The aircraft ran out of usable fuel during the return leg of the flight, leading to the engine shutdown prior to reaching the runway.