Olney, MT, USA
N1966G
Seabase (Avid) Magnum
The pilot reported that he had just picked up the aircraft at the completion of some maintenance work and was returning to his home base. Prior to departure, the pilot preflighted the aircraft, but did not pull the fuel caps to visually check fuel quantity, instead the pilot checked the caramel colored sight glass in the cockpit, which when the fuel tanks are full, the sight window looks the same as when empty. The pilot stated that he assumed that the aircraft had been fueled, however, it had not during its stay for maintenance. After departure, and while in cruise at 4,500 feet above sea level, the engine abruptly stopped operating. Upon determining that the automobile traffic on a nearby highway was too dense to risk a landing he selected a series of fields just east of the highway. Two fences sectioned the fields across the intended landing path, and the surface of the fields was soft and mushy. During the landing roll, the nose dug in, the nose landing gear collapsed and the aircraft nosed over. A Federal Aviation Administration Inspector examined the aircraft the day following the accident and found no gas within the fuel tanks or the fuel strainer.
On October 9, 2003, approximately 1700 mountain daylight time, a homebuilt Seabase (Avid) Magnum, N1966G, registered to and operated by an individual and being flown by a private pilot sustained substantial damage during the landing roll and subsequent nose over following a total loss of power near Olney, Montana. The pilot was uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions existed and no flight plan had been filed. The flight was operated under 14 CFR 91 and originated from Kalispell, Montana (FCA), at 1636 local and was destined for Eureka, Montana (88M). The pilot reported that he had flown the experimentally certificated aircraft, which had approximately 19 hours total time, to Kalispell for some maintenance work for the owner. The pilot stated that when he picked the aircraft up, he checked the repairs and then preflighted the aircraft. During the preflight, the pilot stated that he did not pull the fuel caps to visually check the fuel level, instead, he relied on the caramel colored sight glass in the cockpit. The pilot reported that when the tanks are full, the sight window looks the same as when empty, and further stated, "My assumption, and mistake, was to think it had been filled and not confirm this by pulling caps." The aircraft was not fueled during its stay in Kalispell and the pilot reported that he was unaware that the aircraft's engine had been operated between his arrival and departure from Kalispell. He subsequently departed Kalispell and while in cruise at 4,500 feet above sea level the engine abruptly stopped operating just north of Olney. Upon determining that the automobile traffic on highway 93 was too dense to risk a landing he selected a series of fields just east of the highway. Two fences sectioned the fields across the intended landing path, and the surface of the fields was soft and mushy. During the landing roll, the nose dug in, the nose landing gear collapsed and the aircraft nosed over. An inspector assigned to the Federal Aviation Administration's Helena Flight Standards District Office examined the aircraft the day following the accident and found no gas within the fuel tanks or the fuel strainer.
The pilot's failure to adequately preflight the aircraft to verify the fuel quantity, resulting in fuel exhaustion and the loss of engine power during cruise flight. Contributing factors were the pilot's failure to refuel the aircraft and the soft terrain.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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