N218MA

On May 17, 2000, at 1158 Eastern Daylight Time, a homebuilt MA-18, N218MA, was substantially damaged during a forced landing, following an engine failure, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The certificated private pilot was not injured, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed for the flight, from a private airstrip in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, to Finleyville Airpark (G05), Finleyville, Pennsylvania. The ferry flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors, the airplane did not have a current annual inspection, but was operating under a Special Flight Permit for the flight.

The pilot stated that he was ferrying the airplane for some friends, who had just purchased it. He "did a thorough preflight, checked [the] fuel, controls, engine oil, and drained [the] gascolater for water, [but] found none." He then "taxi-tested [the] aircraft up and down the runway several times. Checked mags, carb heat, etc. Took off and flew around the airport, everything checked o.k." The pilot then turned the airplane toward the destination airport, and 15 minutes into the flight, the engine quit. The pilot was utilizing fuel from the left tank at the time. He switched to the right tank, and nothing initially happened. He pumped the throttle, and the engine "fired up, ran for about 10 seconds and quit again." The pilot confirmed that the fuel selector was in the detent, then applied carburetor heat. The engine "started momentarily," then quit for the last time.

The pilot performed a forced landing to a grass-covered field, but during the landing, the left main landing gear axle broke, the airplane went over onto its nose, then onto its right wing. The pilot reported he had 1 hour of flight time in make and model.

One of the FAA inspectors reported that during post-accident examination, less than 1 gallon of fuel could be drained from the left fuel tank. The inspector also observed that "the fuel could not be turned off until all fuel was gone from the left tank." The inspector subsequently ran the engine with fuel supplied from the right tank, but also noted that "only one header tank was installed, the fuel valve was close to the floor, and the fuel lines were small."