NTSB Factual Report

On March 21, 2014 about 0735 mountain daylight time a Titan 51 Mustang, an experimental, amateur-built airplane, N43889, owned and operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged during a wheels up forced landing to a field near Evans, Colorado. The pilot, the only person on board the airplane was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight which was being conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. The flight originated at the Platte Valley Airport, Hudson, Colorado, at 0715, and was en route to the Greeley Weld County Airport (GXY), Greeley, Colorado.

The pilot stated he had taken off from Platte Valley Airport at about 0715. About 15 minutes into the flight, he notified GXY traffic that he was 6 miles south of the airport and was going to enter their traffic pattern at 5,700 feet. Immediately after making the radio call, the airplane lost all engine and electrical power. The pilot established the best glide speed for the airplane, turned on the auxiliary fuel pump switch, and tried to put down the landing gear. He turned toward the west and selected a suitable landing area: a road. The landing gear, which was electrically powered, would not extend. Additionally, the road he selected to land on had a power line running parallel to it on its west side. The pilot, having enough altitude to clear the power line, decided to put the airplane down in the pasture next to the road. The pilot performed a wheels up, no flap forced landing in the pasture. The pilot did a full stall flare, impacted the pasture and slid approximately 70 feet before coming to a stop. The pilot opened the canopy, turned off the fuel and all other switches, and exited the airplane.

An examination of the airplane at the accident scene showed the bottom fuselage, main landing gear wheel wells, and the carry-through wing spar structure at the wheel wells bent and crushed upward. One of the 4 wood-composite propeller blades was broken at the hub. The other three blades showed no damage. The bottom of the forward fuselage and engine cowling were also crushed upward.

The airplane was recovered to the pilot's hanger and further examined on March 28, 2014. The remaining fuel was drained from the airplane. All of the 18 gallons which was the airplane's fuel capacity were accounted for. Both of the airplane batteries were tested and each failed to hold a charge. A further look into the way the airplane's components were electrically powered showed that the main and auxiliary fuel pumps were wired at original assembly through a circuit breaker into the airplane's main battery bus.

According to Rotech Flight Safety, Incorporated, the Rotax engine technical support service in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the main fuel pump should have been connected to an internal engine generator and only the auxiliary fuel pump should have been wired to the battery bus to act as a backup system in the event the main fuel pump failed.

The Rotax 914 engine has three electrical systems: a battery charging system which runs all the airplane systems as the radios and lights, and 2 engine ignition systems that provide spark to the engine when it is running. An internal generator is rectified externally to provide 14 volts for charging the battery, which in turn powers the 12 volt system. Fourteen amperes is the maximum continuous load the system is designed to handle and 18 amperes is the maximum load with the engine at full power. If the airplane's electrical load exceeds 14 amperes, stator damage could occur and the electrical load would be too much for the internal generator to handle. The generator would not effectively charge the batteries. With both fuel pumps connected to the battery bus, when the batteries fail both pumps would fail and subsequently so would the engine. In a further conversation with the pilot he stated he could not recall what the electrical load was before his airplane lost power.

The airplane's engine and main and auxiliary fuel pumps were sent to a repair facility in Lakeland, Florida, where it was test run and refurbished for further use. On the initial test run, both ignition modules that provide electrical power to the spark plugs were non-functioning. A new ignition module kit was installed and the engine started and operated properly. The stator was resistance tested and found to be good. A service technician for Rotech said the only thing they could think of that could cause the ignition modules to fail would be excessive heat, and felt it had to be connected to how the engine and its components were originally installed.

NTSB Probable Cause

The builder's improper wiring of both fuel pumps to the battery-powered bus, which resulted in a total loss of engine power when the batteries failed because all power to the fuel pumps was lost.