NTSB Factual Report

On August 27, 2016, about 1600 central daylight time, a Rans Coyote S-4 airplane, N8024J, experienced a loss of engine power and landed in a field near the Clarksville/Red River County Airport-J D Trissell Field, (LBR), Clarksville, Texas. The student rated pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained serious injuries and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the accident location and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight departed LBR about 1545.

The 75-year-old student pilot reported that he planned to fly over his home and then return to the airport. While flying above his home about 1,700 ft above ground level (agl), the engine "sputtered" and the tachometer decreased to 1,300 to 1,500 RPM. The pilot turned the airplane around and proceeded back toward the airport. The airplane continued to descend and the pilot noted that with the available power and altitude, he could not make it back to the airport. He then selected a large field surrounded by trees for the forced landing. The airplane cleared the trees and landed hard in the field.

The responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector reported that the airplane came to rest 0.55 nautical miles northwest of LBR runway 17. Ground impact marks were observed about 50 ft in front of the airplane. Continuity of all flight controls was confirmed. The fuselage frame was bent and twisted and the fabric cover was torn. The left wing was distorted upward near the wing strut attachment point. The landing gear was collapsed. The fuel tank behind the seat was over half full and the header tank was full. The fuel selector valve was set to OFF, the mixture control was reduced half way, and the throttle control was full forward.

A postaccident engine examination was conducted by a representative from the engine manufacturer under the supervision of the FAA. The examination revealed that the fuel pump impulse line was broken near the attach point on the crankcase. The soft rubber fuel line was very brittle and exhibited visible deterioration. The carburetor fuel bowl was dry with no evidence of fuel. The rest of the fuel system did not reveal any anomalies. The fuel line was cut to remove the damaged portion then re-attached to the crankcase in order to conduct an engine test run. The engine started and was briefly run with no anomalies noted. The damaged propeller did not allow the engine to be run to maximum RPM. After the test run the fuel line was found to be broken again at the attachment point. Another test run was conducted in order to determine how long the engine would run after the fuel source was removed (to simulate the engine run time after the fuel line was disconnected). The engine operated for sixty-two seconds and then lost all power.

The most recent maintenance was completed by the previous owner on November 20, 2015, which included installation of rebuilt engine cylinders. The fuel pump impulse line was not mentioned in the maintenance logbook entry.

The pilot added that he had only flown this airplane one other time. He planned to only conducted high speed taxi runs, but accidentally became airborne. The airplane reached 50 to 75 ft agl and the pilot noticed there was minimal runway left beneath him. He made one pass around the traffic pattern and landed. During the landing the airplane departed the runway into the grass. After the flight, the pilot asked a local flight instructor, who happened to observe the accidental flight, if we he would endorse his logbook for solo flight. The flight instructor provided the solo flight endorsement. The pilot had accumulated 9.2 total flight hours, of which 0.3 hours were in the accident airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause

The total loss of engine power due to a deteriorated and disconnected fuel line, which resulted in fuel starvation and a subsequent hard, off-field landing.