Fuel Exhaustion & Starvation · NTSB SEA08LA190
Lien Zodiac 601 XL — Coeur d'Alene, ID
| Date | August 29, 2008 |
| Location | Coeur d'Alene, ID |
| Aircraft | Lien Zodiac 601 XL (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Initial climb Loss of control in flight |
| Pilot age | 65 |
| Pilot total time | 900 hrs · Building experience |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft power plant-Engine fuel and control-Fuel control/carburetor-Failure - F
- Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Fuel system-Fuel distribution-Malfunction
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Lateral/bank control-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
What happened
As the airplane departed on its maiden flight, witnesses reported hearing the engine "cut out" then start again before completely losing power. The airplane was subsequently observed in "a tight spiral" with its wings "pointing straight up and down" before impacting terrain and sliding into the side of a school building. The airplane came to rest in an inverted position. Fuel was detected at the accident site and there was no post crash fire. A Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector reported that the carburetor's mixture control lever had separated from its mixture shaft, and that the carburetor's metering valve shaft appeared to have been slightly bent and grooved for some time.