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WPR14CA400

2014-06-22 · Hurricane, Utah, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 1L8

Current FAA registration · N599KM

Make / Model
ZENITH ZODIAC 601 XL
Year of manufacture
2007 · 7 years old at event
Engine
JABIRU 3300 (120 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20070307
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A7BFC3

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

Loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was an incorrectly calibrated fuel totalizer.

Factual narrative

The sport pilot was on a personal local flight that included a stop at a neighboring airport for fuel. During a 2 mile straight-in final to the neighboring airport, about 1 mile from the runway, the engine lost power. During the subsequent emergency descent and landing, the airplane struck a fence, and the fuselage sustained substantial damage. Following a postaccident examination by the pilot/owner, he reported that the fuel totalizer calibration was inaccurate, and that an empty tank was indicating 3.6 gallons of fuel available. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The sport pilot was on a personal local flight that included a stop at a neighboring airport for fuel. During a 2 mile straight-in final to the neighboring airport, about 1 mile from the runway, the engine lost power. During the subsequent emergency descent and landing, the airplane struck a fence, and the fuselage sustained substantial damage. Following a postaccident examination by the pilot/owner, he reported that the fuel totalizer calibration was inaccurate, and that an empty tank was indicating 3.6 gallons of fuel available. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the engine that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid management - C
  • F Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Fuel system-Fuel quantity sensor-Incorrect service/maintenance - F
  • F Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Fuel system-Fuel quantity sensor-Incorrect service/maintenance - F

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2014_WPR14CA400.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 exhaustion). All research papers