Lack of fuel 'caused plane crash'

[AlphaMale]

An aerobatic plane crashed into a field on a training flight because of a lack of fuel, an investigation has found.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44980000/jpg/_44980621_planepic466other.jpg

The pilot, John Paulson, 56, had to be helped from the wreckage by a farmer, but suffered only minor injuries in the crash landing at Llay, near Wrexham.

Mr Paulson told the Air Accident Investigations Branch (AAIB) he had misjudged how much fuel the plane had.

The AAIB report said the situation could have been "considerably more serious."

Mr Paulson had taken the plane out on 2 September 2008 to train for an aerobatic flight.

He told the AAIB that he had thought he had a full tank but after performing a number of stunts he realised it was almost empty.

After crash landing in the field, the plane flipped over on its back, trapping Mr Paulson.

He escaped from the wreckage after a farmer lifted a wing of the plane using a plough attachment on his tractor.

The AIIB reported concluded he could have suffered much worse injuries "had it not been for the soft earth and the timely intervention of the tractor driver".

BBC NEWS | Wales | North East Wales | Lack of fuel 'caused plane crash' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/7888391.stm)

[Heliplane]

Yup, a lack of fuel will certainly do it. So will improper contact with the ground.

[Oldpilot55]

Looks like his head was empty of common sense, too.

[Pilot DAR]

Lack of fuel is much less that cause of an accident, as the dramatic reduction in choices of places to land safely, following the exhaustion of the fuel.

[bigfoot01]

There for the grace of...

I went flying the other day, it was actually quite normal. I suspect if the AAIB had investigated, however, they could have concluded that I could have been badly injured had I not bothered to flare during the landing.

I guess if the ground had been harder it's possible he might have stayed the right way up, but I am unclear the value this adds to the day.

I hope the pilot is too badly injured.

[kevmusic]

I hope the pilot is too badly injured. :confused::confused: Typo?

[Zulu Alpha]

I thought the problem was fuel contamination.........












....Fuel got contaminated with air!!!:)
I do like his comment that he will check the fuel with a dipstick next time rather than eyeballing it!! I wonder if there will be a next time as he is flying around in a Robin rather than one of the worlds top aerobatic aircraft a CAP232.

[N707ZS]

What will the insurance man say? Presume you don't have a fuel gauge?

[DavidHoul52]

He also says he is going to wear a parachute from now on. So next time he doesn't check the fuel before take off he can parachute to safety while the plane goes on to kill innocent people on the ground.

He concludes that "this type of aircraft is likely to pitch forward onto its back on any sort of surface".

[moggiee]

At least there was no fire risk!

[Lister Noble]

Not sure about that,aren't empty or nearly empty fuel tanks more likely to explode due to containing enough oxygen to permit this?
Lister

[Pilot DAR]

Looks to me that a post evacuation fire would have saved a day's cleaning up!

[Mariner9]

Not a bad transcript of the AAIB report by the BBC in this instance, but still better to comment on the original report (http://www.aaib.gov.uk/publications/bulletins/february_2009/cap_232__g_gsgz.cfm)in my view

[englishal]

Well, I wouldn't bee too hard on the poor chap and I certainly wouldn't laugh at him like some of the t@ssers here. Yes, class 1 mistake, and everyone was lucky but there may be some mitigating factors.....

Often when doing aero's (depending on aircraft) one can't just fill the plane up to the top with fuel due to W&B and CofG restrictions so fuel planning is no doubt important ( in fact AAIB report confirms that wing tanks must be empty for aeros).

Secondly fuel gauges do not have to show how much fuel is onboard, but only have to show when empty. SOme are better than others at this. Our aeroplane shows no visible fuel when at below about 110 litres and the fuel gauges are rubbish. We rely on a tech log to show fuel burned and if in doubt top it up. This can be a pain in the @rse as it could put us over weight and a dipstick wouldn't work with the dihedral of the wings.

It is all very easy if you fly a PA28 with "tabs"....