Fuel Exhaustion & Starvation · NTSB CEN14FA173
WORTHINGTON DONALD WAYNE SONERAI II LT — Highlands Ranch, CO
| Date | March 29, 2014 |
| Location | Highlands Ranch, CO |
| Aircraft | WORTHINGTON DONALD WAYNE SONERAI II LT (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Enroute Loss of engine power (partial) |
| Pilot age | 60 |
| Pilot total time | 573 hrs · Building experience |
| Time in type | 1 hrs |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Total experience w/ equipment-Pilot
- Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Recent experience-Pilot
- Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Fuel system-(general)-Not specified
What happened
On the morning of the accident, the pilot terminated his first flight early due to a fuel leak in the fuel tank sight gauge. The pilot made a repair before taking off for a second flight. During the second flight, witnesses reported seeing the airplane in distress and hearing the engine sputtering as it approached an open field. The airplane overflew a set of power lines before rolling and impacting terrain, consistent with the pilot reducing the airspeed in an attempt to clear the power lines during a forced landing and subsequently stalling the airplane. The majority of the airplane fuselage and cockpit were consumed by a postimpact fire. Flight control continuity was verified from the cockpit to all flight control surfaces. Examination of the fuel system and engine were limited due to the fire damage, and a reason for the apparent loss of engine power could not be determined.
The pilot hadn't flown in 10 years and had recently purchased the airplane. The pilot logged one flight with an instructor about 2 months before the accident, and he had not logged experience in the airplane type before the day of the accident.