What happened
On September 14, 2012, a Robin DR400-180, registration F-GAOU, departed from Nangis Les Loges airport for a local flight of less than one hour. Shortly after reaching an altitude of approximately 600 feet and leveling off, the engine abruptly stopped. The pilot attempted to restart the engine by activating the electric pump and switching the fuel selector to the left, but the engine failed to resume operation. After switching the selector back to its original position, the pilot performed a left turn and executed an emergency landing in a field near the threshold of runway 23. The impact caused heavy damage to the aircraft, including the failure of the landing gear during the landing roll.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the fuel system and the pilot's pre-flight preparations. Investigators found that the right wing tank was empty, while the left and main tanks contained approximately 30 liters and 40 liters, respectively. The fuel selector was found in the "right tank" position. Notably, the markings on the fuel selector were partially erased.
During the pre-flight inspection, the pilot did not visually verify the fuel levels, relying instead on a fuel gauge that indicated the tanks were three-quarters full. The investigation revealed that the fuel gauges were unreliable: the left tank gauge was heavily corroded and the low-level function was inoperative, while the right tank gauge was an incorrect part not intended for use in a DR400 model. Furthermore, the low-level fuel alarms were non-functional.
Regarding pilot experience, the pilot had significant total time but very little recent experience on this specific model, having only 3 hours of flight time on the DR400-180, with his last flight on the type occurring in May 2011. The pilot also relied on verbal confirmation from an instructor regarding sufficient fuel levels rather than performing a manual check.
Findings
- Fuel exhaustion occurred because the pilot took off with the fuel selector positioned on an empty tank.
- The pilot's incomplete flight preparation and insufficient knowledge of the specific aircraft's characteristics contributed to the error.
- The partially erased markings on the fuel selector led to confusion regarding the selector position.
- The pilot's overconfidence in information provided by an instructor regarding fuel quantities led to a lack of manual verification.
- The inoperative low-level fuel alarms and faulty gauges prevented the pilot from detecting the low fuel state.
- A lack of oversight by the flying club meant there was no mechanism to verify if pilots were adhering to recent experience requirements when using rental aircraft.