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ERA20CA059

2019-12-22 · Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N211RR

Make / Model
QUICKSILVER MX II SPRINT
Year of manufacture
2003 · 16 years old at event
Engine
ROTAX 582DCDI (65 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20100129
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A1BEC0

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's inadvertent movement of the fuel shutoff switch to the “off” position while attempting to take a picture of himself, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation and a subsequent ditching in open water.

Factual narrative

The student pilot reported that, while attempting to take a picture of himself, he accidentally moved the fuel shutoff switch to the OFF position. The engine experienced a complete loss of power. He initiated a forced landing onto open water and was rescued by boaters. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wing and the structural tubing of the fuselage. The solo student pilot reported that, while attempting to take a picture of himself, he accidentally moved the fuel shutoff switch to the "off" position, which resulted in a loss of all engine power. He ditched the airplane onto open water and was rescued by boaters. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wing and the structural tubing of the fuselage. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Student/instructed pilot
  • C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Attention-Student/instructed pilot
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Fuel system-Fuel selector/shutoff valve-Unintentional use/operation
  • C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2019_ERA20CA059.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel starvation). All research papers