NTSB Factual Report

On August 25, 2002, at 1944 Pacific daylight time, an experimental Hispano Aviacion HA-200 Saeta, N232DS, lost engine power while descending from 13,000 feet about 22 miles east of Bakersfield, California. The pilot operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airline transport pilot and one pilot-rated passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that departed the Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV), Minden, Nevada. The flight departed MEV about 1800 and was destined for the Whiteman Airport (WHP), Los Angeles, California.

According to the pilot, the flight originated from Lewiston Nez Perce Airport (LWS), Lewiston, Idaho. The flight from Lewiston to Minden, a planned fuel stop, was uneventful. While descending through 13,000 feet in the area of Bakersfield, California, the airplane experienced dual engine failures. The pilot stated that he made an unsuccessful attempt to restart the engines, and then made an emergency landing at a closed airport about 15 miles east of Bakersfield. The airplane landed hard. On the landing rollout the airplane collided with a fence. During the accident sequence the wing tip fuel tanks separated from the wings.

First responders to the accident scene noted fuel leaking from the wing tip fuel tanks.

The commercial pilot-rated passenger, an airframe and powerplant mechanic (A & P), inspected the airplane in preparation for its flight from LWS to WHP. He indicated that during taxi at LWS the pilot did not make proper radio calls. On the first takeoff (LWS), the pilot over rotated, and the tail section struck the ground and damaged the tail cone.

The passenger said that during the flight to Minden the pilot was supposed to secure the canopy; however, it opened twice. During the flight the passenger indicated that the "pilot a number of times switched the tip tank pressurization control from one tip tank to the other instead of having [it] only on both." While on approach to Minden the landing gear did not extend. A go-around was initiated after the pilot failed to identify the proper runway. The pilot utilized the emergency blow down system to deploy the landing gear, and he made a normal landing. The passenger indicated that the airplane landed with only 20 gallons of fuel on board. At Minden the landing gear system was extended, and the pilot made the decision to fly to Whiteman with the landing gear extended.

On takeoff from Minden the passenger stated that the pilot's canopy again flew open. The pilot was able to shut the canopy, and the flight continued on towards Whiteman over the mountains. The passenger indicated that this was contrary to the owners' wishes, and that flying over the mountains instead of towards Fresno, California, and through the valleys left them without any airports to land at in the event of any problems.

The passenger reported that the pilot "left the tip tank on what he thought was both almost the whole flight, switching to each one for only a few minutes at time…." The pilot asked him to locate the nearest airport because he was flying on one engine, so he looked for an airport with the longest runway instead of the closest airport. Bakersfield was the closest airport. He provided heading, distance, and radio frequencies. Several minutes later the pilot asked for the nearest spot to land since he had lost both engines. The passenger stated that he found Rio Bravo airport that was 8 miles away, and within gliding distance. The passenger stated that the pilot had difficulty finding the airport, and he had to tell him to turn back to the runway. The passenger reported that one wing tip hit the runway as the pilot was still attempting to line up with the runway.

The passenger stated that after the airplane had come to a stop, the pilot left the master switch in the on position, and did not assist him with exiting the airplane.

According to the owner, he had asked the pilot a week before the accident to fly the airplane to Whiteman airport from Lewiston. An annual inspection of the airplane was conducted at Lewiston on October 8, 2002. The pilot accompanied the owner and airframe and powerplant (A & P) mechanic to familiarize himself with the airplane. The owner indicated that the morning of the accident the airplane was "topped off" with Jet A fuel - about 100 gallons. The owner flew his airplane to Minden and met up with the pilot and passenger. The passenger informed the owner of the takeoff at Lewiston, and that the tail was dragged along the runway. The owner stated that he was concerned about the landing gear not coming down because the same hydraulic pump operated the flaps and speed brake. When the owner confronted the pilot, the pilot indicated that it was not a problem to fly back to Whiteman with the landing gear in the down position, and that he felt he could get the airplane to its final destination. The owner then requested that another refueling stop be made at Fresno because the fuel consumption would increase with the landing gear extended. The pilot indicated that he did not need to make a stop in Fresno because Whiteman was only 290 nautical miles away and he had just flown the airplane 440 nautical miles. The owner made the request again; however, the pilot's response was that he was pilot-in-command and would pick the flight route.

The owner indicated that the accident airplane was refueled with 352 gallons of Jet A fuel. He was in contact with the accident pilot; after takeoff the accident pilot radioed him and informed him that the airplane was burning 120 gallons per hour during the climb out (about 1,000 feet per minute).

An airframe and power plant mechanic familiar with the airplane and its systems inspected the airplane at the request of the Safety Board investigator. The mechanic described the operation of the fuel system, which consists of two tip tanks; one aft fuselage tank, and a forward fuselage tank that includes inboard wing section tanks. The tip tanks, which feed only into the aft fuselage tank, are used by porting pressurized air from the bleed air turbine compressor to the tanks through a pneumatic switch in the cockpit. The switch has positions for LEFT, RIGHT, BOTH and OFF. The forward and aft fuselage tanks are fed to the engines by energizing conventional boost pumps. The proper fuel tank usage sequence is to select the aft fuselage tank (turning off the forward tank boost pump and turning on the aft tank boost pump) while selecting and pressurizing both tip tanks, which then replenish the aft fuselage tank. When the fuel from the both tip tanks and the aft fuselage tank is used, then the forward fuselage tank is selected.

According to the mechanic's observations, the airplane struck the ground right wing low, and the right wing fuel tip tank separated from the airplane. The left wing then struck a telephone pole, and the left wing fuel tip tank separated from the airplane. He noted a fuel spill from the separated left wing tip tank, about 40-feet away. The fire department estimated the fuel spill from the left tip tank at 80 gallons. The right tip tank was empty. The landing gear collapsed and the nose landing gear sheared off. The airplane slid about 600 feet on its belly and came to rest on its belly. He spoke with the passenger who estimated that there were 80-100 gallons of fuel onboard the airplane in the left tip tank. The passenger also indicated that both he and the pilot did not feel that the fuel gages were accurate so they were basing the fuel burn on time. No fuel was found in either the forward or aft fuselage tanks.

During the inspection, the mechanic indicated that with the master switch in the ON position; the front cockpit low fuel flight for the forward tank was not operative, and the low fuel light in for the aft tank was ON. Both forward and aft low fuel lights in the aft cockpit were ON. The forward and aft fusel tank gages in the front cockpit were empty. The fuel boost pumps ran when activated. The mechanic indicated that there was no fuel found in the center or inboard wing fuel tanks, and there was no evidence of fuel spillage from the fuselage tanks on the ground, nor were any of the tanks ruptured. He removed a fuel valve from the belly access panel with no evidence of contamination. He found the fuel tip tank selector valve in the OFF position. The bleed air compressor turbine was inspected, and was manually rotated with no obstruction. The selector valve for the fuel tip tanks was an air valve type and found to be free of contaminants.

Airport maintenance personnel at the Lewiston airport retrieved parts of the airplane tail section from the runway.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The pilot/operator report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) was sent to the pilot; however, no correspondence was received from the pilot.

NTSB Probable Cause

the pilot's improper fuel system management, which lead to fuel starvation, and a loss of engine power. A factor in the accident was the pilot's decision to continue on the second leg of the flight with the gear in the extended position, which increased the fuel consumption and reduced the aircraft's available range.