Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kennett Square, Pennsylvania 19348
Wednesday, May 11, 2005 19:15 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The homebuilt airplane was in cruise flight when it experienced a loss of engine power, after the pilot cycled the auxiliary fuel pump switch. The pilot turned toward a nearby airport, switched fuel tanks, placed the mixture control to full rich, and confirmed that the fuel pump was in the "on" position. The airplane continued to descend and the pilot performed a forced landing to a field. During the landing, the airplane struck a ditch, and flipped over. Initial examination of the engine did not reveal any pre-impact malfunctions. However, the pilot reported that subsequent troubleshooting of the electric auxiliary fuel pump revealed that it operated intermittently and restricted fuel flow to the carburetor.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A fuel pump malfunction, as reported by the pilot, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/11/2005
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1915
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Kennett Square
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 19348
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 395200N
Event Location Longitude 0794800W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1951 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 330
Weather Observation Facility ID ILG
Elevation of weather observation facility 79
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.93
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19773
NTSB Notification Source EROC
NTSB Notification Date May 11 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 30 2006 1:54PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Philadelphia

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N42RZ
NTSB Number NYC05LA081
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Zeidman
Aircraft Model RV-6A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28212
Certified Max Gross Weight 1750
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection May 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 5
Airframe Hours 785
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Richard B. Zeidman
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Aston
Operator State PA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 19014
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code N57
Departure City Toughkenamon
Departure State PA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 20 2006 2:53PM
User who most recently changed record MUZD
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --