Event GAA19CA181

Factual narrative

The pilot of the weight-shift control aircraft reported that he departed with 6 gallons of fuel and the estimated fuel burn was 3 gallons per hour. He added that, during the flight they performed multiple climbs and descents and he believed the aircraft burned more fuel than usual. He added that, about 1 hour and 15 minutes into the flight, the engine lost power. He restarted the engine momentarily, but then lost power again. He attempted to restart multiple times again, to no avail. During the forced landing, he attempted to land on a soccer field, but the aircraft impacted terrain about 15 yards short of the intended landing site. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot added that, after visiting the hospital, he went back to look at the aircraft and did not observe any fuel in the fuel tank. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the weight-shift control aircraft that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot of the weight-shift-control aircraft reported that he departed with 6 gallons of fuel onboard the airplane and that he estimated that the fuel burn was 3 gallons per hour. He added that, during the flight, he performed multiple climbs and descents, and he believed the aircraft burned more fuel than usual. He added that, about 1 hour 15 minutes into the flight, the engine lost power. He restarted the engine momentarily, but it then lost power again. He attempted to restart the engine multiple times to no avail. During the forced landing, he attempted to land the aircraft on a field, but it impacted terrain about 15 yards short of the intended landing site. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot added that, after visiting the hospital, he went back to look at the aircraft and did not see any fuel in the fuel tank. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the aircraft that would have precluded normal operation. 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 Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C