N942PS

On May 14, 2000, at about 1945 eastern daylight time, an Asselyn CH701, N942PS, registered to a private owner, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, experienced a total loss of engine power in cruise flight in the vicinity of Wake Forrest, North Carolina. The pilot made a forced landing to an open field and crashed after making a hard landing. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The flight originated from Knightdale, North Carolina (9NCO), about 18 minutes before the accident.

The pilot stated he departed Louisburg, North Carolina , (LHZ) at 1810, VFR to a private strip (Lake Ridge Aero located in the vicinity of Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, (W65) arriving at 1850. At 1855, he departed W65 en route to 9NCO, arriving at 1925. At 1927, he departed 9NCO, en route to (LHZ). He was in cruise flight at 1,500 feet when the airplane sustained a reduction in engine power. He started a left 360-degree turn in preparation for a forced landing, the engine power came back, and the power decreased again. At about the 180-degree point, he observed a better forced landing area, he lowered the nose and the power increased again. He reduced the throttle to the idle position, turned the ignition switch off, applied flaps and started a left slip in order to reach the forced landing area. The airplane was fast, and he was concerned about trees at the edge of the forced landing area. He forced the airplane on the ground landing hard, the main gear and nose gear separated, the airplane turned to the left and the right wing tip collided with the ground. He and the passenger exited the airplane, started walking toward a house and were met by the property owner. They returned to the airplane a short time later to remove personal belongings. The pilot opened the fuel tank and observed no fuel, and stated the loss of engine power was due to fuel exhaustion.

The pilot stated in the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, "The fact that for this flight the tank was full at departure (10 gallons, 9.5 usable) and empty upon landing, the fuel burn for this trip was 6.25 gallons per hour, significantly higher than the projected burn, and significantly higher than any recorded fuel burn for this plane. I believe this indicates that there were some abnormal circumstance that caused the fuel burn to be unusually high, which was the cause for the engine to die from fuel starvation."

Examination of the airplane by the FAA revealed no fuel was found in either fuel tank. The pilot informed the FAA that he only topped off one fuel tank and stated that he believed that he ran out of fuel. (For additional information see FAA Accident/Incident Report an attachment to this report.)