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A storm century light sport pilot reported loss of power he believes is related to uneven fuel transfer. Pilot declared emergency and landed safely.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 941495 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201104 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Light Sport Aircraft |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Fuel Distribution System |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Private Flight Crew Instrument |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 10 Flight Crew Total 219 Flight Crew Type 13.3 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical |
Narrative:
Proceeding southbound at 2;000 ft. Engine began sputtering and losing power. Declared emergency with tower and made an immediate right turn toward [airport]. Contacted tower and was cleared to land any runway. Engine continued to run weakly and sputter but maintained enough power to get me to [airport]. Engine appeared to return to normal around the time of touchdown. Problem was likely fuel starvation due to uneven feeding of the fuel tanks. Both fuel valves were confirmed on at takeoff 30 minutes prior to incident (and at first takeoff at xa:30 local) but engine appeared to run the right tank dry and was not drawing from left. [After landing] ten gallons of fuel were added to the right tank and after a thorough engine compartment inspection and run up the decision was made to ferry the plane back to the home base. The engine performed normally on that flight and no further issues were observed. Owner/operator (flight school) will have aircraft looked at by maintenance personnel. Note: aircraft type is a storm century light sport.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A Storm Century light sport pilot reported loss of power he believes is related to uneven fuel transfer. Pilot declared emergency and landed safely.
Narrative: Proceeding southbound at 2;000 FT. Engine began sputtering and losing power. Declared emergency with Tower and made an immediate right turn toward [airport]. Contacted Tower and was cleared to land any runway. Engine continued to run weakly and sputter but maintained enough power to get me to [airport]. Engine appeared to return to normal around the time of touchdown. Problem was likely fuel starvation due to uneven feeding of the fuel tanks. Both fuel valves were confirmed on at takeoff 30 minutes prior to incident (and at first takeoff at XA:30 local) but engine appeared to run the right tank dry and was not drawing from left. [After landing] ten gallons of fuel were added to the right tank and after a thorough engine compartment inspection and run up the decision was made to ferry the plane back to the home base. The engine performed normally on that flight and no further issues were observed. Owner/operator (flight school) will have aircraft looked at by maintenance personnel. Note: Aircraft type is a Storm Century light sport.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.