Event ERA14LA355

Factual narrative

On July 15, 2014, about 2115 eastern daylight time, a Pipistrel ALPHA Trainer, N10PU, was substantially damaged during a forced landing while approaching Pompano Beach Airpark (PMP), Pompano Beach, Florida. The commercial pilot and the passenger were not injured. There was no flight plan for the local flight, which originated at Antiquers Aerodrome (FD08), Delray Beach, Florida. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.According to the pilot, during the preflight inspection, he determined the airplane to have 45% of its fuel capacity, or 5.7 of 12.7 usable gallons. He determined the amount by viewing the indicators on the panel and by "dipping" the tank, noting the fuel level to be just below the half-way mark on the dip stick. No water or grit was found in the fuel. The pilot also noted that the flight was to be 1 hour in duration, and per performance criteria of the airplane, should have consumed 3.6 gallons. He further noted that after takeoff, he flew southbound at an altitude of 500 to 600 feet to South Beach, after which, he turned the airplane northbound to return to FD08. During the northbound trek, the pilot called Boca Raton Tower and received approval for direct routing to FD08. The pilot initiated a climb to FD08 pattern altitude, turned toward the airport, and the engine "abruptly stopped." He then turned the airplane toward PMP, advised Boca Raton Tower that he would be landing at PMP, and attempted an engine restart without success. The pilot then gradually descended the airplane from 600 feet, making "deliberate" shallow turns to align the airplane for landing on runway 28. The runway was in sight when the airplane's left wing impacted a tree between the Pompano Golf Course and the airport perimeter fence. The airplane yawed left, impacted the fence, and came to rest on the fence. Time logged on the cockpit GPS was 0.9 hours from FD08 to PMP. According to the responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, he found no fuel in the tanks or lines, and no evidence of fuel leakage. According to the pilot, during the preflight inspection, he determined that the airplane had 45 percent of its fuel capacity (5.7 of 12.7 usable gallons). He determined the fuel amount by viewing the indicators on the cockpit panel and by "dipping" the tank and noting that the fuel level was just below the halfway mark on the dip stick. He found no water or grit in the fuel. The pilot reported that the flight was intended to be 1 hour long and that, per the airplane's performance criteria, he calculated that the engine would consume 3.6 gallons of fuel during the flight. The pilot took off on the local flight, and, when the airplane was inbound toward his home airport, the engine "abruptly stopped." He then diverted toward a closer airport and attempted to restart the engine without success. While approaching the airport, he made shallow turns to align the airplane with a runway, but the airplane's left wing impacted a tree, and the airplane subsequently impacted the airport perimeter fence. The cockpit GPS indicated that the flight was 0.9 hour long. No fuel was found in the fuel tanks or lines, and no evidence of fuel leakage was found at the accident site. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C