STANWOOD, WA, USA
N518DC
Crouch AVID MARK IV
The pilot stated that he did not check his fuel level before a local flight because he was in a 'rush.' About 2 hours after departure, the airplane 'ran out of fuel' and the engine stopped producing power. During a forced landing, the airplane overran a suitable landing area, struck a fence, hit a stop sign, and came to a stop near a house.
On October 6, 1996, about 1545 Pacific daylight time, a Crouch Avid Mark IV home built airplane, operated by the owner/pilot, collided with a fence during an emergency landing and was substantially damaged near Stanwood, Washington. The emergency landing was precipitated by a loss of engine power during cruise. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed. The personal flight departed from Arlington, Washington, and was conducted under 14 CFR 91. In a telephone interview with the Safety Board on the day of the accident, the pilot stated that he did not check his fuel level prior to departure because he was in a "rush." Shortly after departure, the airplane "ran out of fuel" and the engine stopped producing power. The pilot force landed the airplane on a road. During the landing, the airplane struck a fence and a stop sign and was substantially damaged. In a written statement provided by the pilot to the Safety Board (attached), the pilot stated: After almost 2 hours of flying around the area, the engine suddenly sputtered and quit. I tried to restart, but it wouldn't.... I had run out of gas. I set up for an emergency landing, picked out what looked like a suitable field, and headed for it. On final approach, the airplane hit an up-draft at the approach end of the field, went up slightly, and then continued down. It remained in ground effect, and wouldn't settle to land. By the time it finally touched down, we had run out of field, and couldn't stop before running through the fence at the end of the field, crossed the road, and ended up in the yard of the house across the street.
failure of the pilot to perform an adequate preflight inspection, which led to fuel exhaustion and subsequent loss of engine power. A factor relating to the accident was: the pilot's failure to attain the proper touchdown point on suitable terrain during the forced landing.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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