N60698

On July 1, 2000, about 0800 central daylight time, a Paul M. Spurgeon Avid Bandit, N60698, registered to and operated by a private owner as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, experienced an engine failure about 4 miles southwest of Columbus-Lowndes County Airport, near Columbus, Mississippi. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured, and the aircraft incurred substantial damage. The flight originated the same day, about 0745.

The pilot stated that he departed from his private airfield in Brooksville, Mississippi, en route for Columbus-Lowndes County Airport, and the aircraft engine had ceased operating 10 minutes into the flight. The pilot further stated that he attempted to restart the engine, but was unsuccessful, so he performed an emergency landing to an open area, surrounded by timber. During the landing rollout, the right main landing gear struck a tree stump, the airplane flipped over on its back, and the vertical stabilizer was damaged.

An FAA inspector who conducted the on scene investigation of the accident aircraft stated that the pilot told him that he had departed with 7 gallons of fuel in the left tank. According to the inspector, the pilot further stated that the airplane was not equipped with a fuel selector, and fuel is gravity fed to the engine from either tank. The inspector said that he examined the area under the left fuel tank and the ground under the tank was saturated with fuel.

The pilot conducted a follow-on examination of the airplane, and stated that a fuel line adjacent to the seat was found to have crimped, restricting the flow of fuel to the engine. According to the pilot, the fuel line was being crushed between the seat and the frame, which starved the engine of fuel.