Amateur-built Arion N1XF accident near Jerome, Idaho

Probable cause

The pilot’s mismanagement of fuel, which resulted in fuel starvation and the pilot’s loss of airplane control during an emergency descent, which resulted in a stall and subsequent impact with terrain.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that he recently purchased the airplane and experienced inaccurate right fuel gauge readings, so he used a fuel totalizer on the airplane’s instrumentation and conducted frequent fuel calculations. About 24 miles from his destination, he intentionally ran the right fuel tank empty and the engine sputtered and quit. He turned off the right fuel tank selector and turned on the left fuel tank selector. The engine started again for several seconds then it sputtered again. He adjusted the fuel selectors several times, but to no avail. Unable to make the airport, he initiated an off-field landing. As the airplane descended, the pilot observed several obstacles. As he made a left turn to avoid them, the left wing stalled, and the airplane impacted the ground nose down. The aft fuselage and wings sustained substantial damage. As the pilot exited the airplane, he noted two streams of fuel exiting the damaged left wingtip. During recovery, limited to no fuel was removed from the airplane, and the smell of fuel was not noted at the accident site. There was nothing abnormal noted with the fuel system as the airplane was disassembled and prepared for transport.

During the emergency descent following a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, the pilot was maneuvering the airplane in a left-wing low attitude, when it stalled and subsequently collided with the ground left wing first. The loss of engine power and the subsequent forced landing likely could have been prevented had the pilot switched fuel tanks prior to depleting the right fuel tank of fuel.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR20LA096 for the full record.