Accident Overview
On March 18, 2001, at approximately 0955Z, a Europa aircraft (registration ZU-BFI) was involved in an accident near Wonderboom Airport (FAWB). The aircraft was on a private flight from Rustenburg (FARG) to Wonderboom. The pilot held a Private Pilot Licence (PA 42325) with a total flying experience of 140 hours, of which 16 hours were on the aircraft type. The licence was valid. The operation was private.
Flight Details
While approaching FAWB, the pilot contacted ATC at approximately 2.5 nautical miles from the airport, at an altitude of 5800 feet, reporting a rough running engine. The pilot requested a straight-in approach for Runway 11, which was granted; at that time, Runway 29 was in use. Shortly thereafter, the pilot reported that he was going down and preparing to land in an open field approximately 1.2 km from the threshold of Runway 11 and 500 meters left of the centerline.
Emergency Landing
The pilot executed a forced landing in the open field. The aircraft sustained limited damage. There were no injuries to the two persons on board (pilot and one passenger). The accident site was located 1.5 km northwest of the threshold of Runway 11 at FAWB. The weather at the time was fine.
Probable Cause
The cause of the engine failure was probably due to fuel exhaustion.