Redding Municipal Airport, Redding, CA

The builder/pilot reported that during the flight he lost fuel pressure. He activated the second electric fuel pump, which corrected the problem, but only for a few seconds. The engine lost then all power. The pilot attempted to land in a dirt field. During the landing roll the airplane nosed over.
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The pilot reported that while practicing night landings he misjudged the timing of the touchdown flare, resulting in the airplane touching down hard in a nose low attitude. Both lower engine mounts were broken and the top of the aft fuselage was buckled. The pilot reported that no anomalies existed with the airplane prior to the flight.
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The fight instructor reported that on the first landing the pilot-rated student failed to extend the landing gear. The instructor further reported that he didn't notice that the landing gear was in the UP position on approach to landing. Additionally, the pilot-rated student had set the manifold pressure at 15 inches, while the landing gear warning horn is set to activate at 13 inches of manifold pressure. The flight instructor also stated that the landing checklist was not accomplished. The airplane landed with all three landing gear in the retracted position, which resulted in substantial damage.
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The pilot stated that, while maneuvering on downwind within the airport traffic pattern, he thought the fuel selector valve was on the "left" tank and rotated the handle 1/4 turn in the clockwise direction to a position he thought was "both." As the pilot turned onto base leg, he noticed the engine had lost power and initiated a forced landing to an area adjacent to the runway. Subsequently, the airplane landed hard on a rising embankment near the runway and came to rest upright. The fuselage and both wings were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that the fuel selector valve was actually in the "right" position, and when he rotated the fuel selector handle he had inadvertently positioned the valve to the "off" position. The pilot added that there were no mechanical anomalies with the engine or airframe prior to the accident.
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According to the pilot, during the landing on the 2,420-foot long runway, he touched down about half way down the runway. He applied "heavy braking," but felt the wheels skidding and eased off on the brakes. He decided not to go around as he was "too far down the runway" when he realized he would not be able to stop before overrunning the runway. The airplane exited the end of the runway, traveled down an embankment and impacted a fence.
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The personal cross-country flight departed from Arlington, Washington, and briefly stopped in Grants Pass, Oregon, departing about 1100 for a final destination of Redding. While on a 2.5-mile final approach to the destination airport, the engine experienced a loss of engine power and the pilot performed an emergency landing in a field. The airplane collided with a berm during the landing roll. Just prior to the loss of power, the right fuel tank was empty and the left fuel tank had about 6 gallons of fuel remaining; the fuel selector was positioned on the "both" selection. According to the airplane's Owner's Manual, 5 gallons of fuel is unusable per tank in non-level flight. The pilot did not refuel while en route.
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The airplane's left wing collided with a tree during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. While on the approach for landing, the engine lost power and the pilot attempted to land the airplane on a residential street. The left wing collided with a tree during the landing ground roll. Recovery personnel noted that no fuel was in the airplane's fuel tanks, and fresh blue staining was evident on the belly area below and behind the fuel strainer drain outlet. The pilot reported that the airplane's fuel tanks had been filled the day preceding the flight, but he could not provide fuel receipts. The airplane's performance specifications state that at 3,000 feet, with 75 percent power and best power mixture, the airplane cruises at 73 miles per hour and achieves a fuel consumption of 4.4 gallons per hour. The fuel capacity is 12 gallons. The straight line distance between the departure and destination airports was 146 nm. The airplane landed 4,500
feet short of the airport.
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The helicopter touched down hard at the culmination of a practice autorotation. During the instructional flight lesson, the certified flight instructor (CFI) monitored his student's flying. The student had about 15 hours of total helicopter flying experience. The CFI reported that the student initiated the landing flare about 40 feet above ground level (agl). According to the CFI, when the helicopter was about 10 feet agl he took over the controls, raised the collective, and rolled on the throttle to initiate a power recovery. The helicopter's low rotor warning horn sounded and the respective annunciator light illuminated. Thereafter, the helicopter contacted the ground, bounced, and came to rest after making two complete rotations about its vertical axis. The tailboom and vertical stabilizer were bent during the ground impact sequence. No mechanical malfunction or failure was reported to have occurred.
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During cruise the airplane lost engine power and the pilot ditched the airplane in a lake. The pilot said that during the preflight, he used a fuel stick to determine the fuel quantity in each fuel tank. He indicated that there was between 53 and 55 gallons of fuel onboard at the time of departure. One hour into the flight, he switched fuel tanks from the left to the right fuel tank, and planned to switch back to the left fuel tank after another hour had passed. Once he arrived in the airport environment he overheard a radio transmission from a departing aircraft, so he diverted towards a nearby dam to allow the other aircraft time to depart the airport environment. While in the vicinity of the dam at 1,200 feet above the ground the engine quit. He immediately switched fuel tanks, turned on the fuel boost pump, and advanced the throttle; however, the engine did not respond. As he approached the dam, he observed power lines surrounding the dam. His
intention was to ditch the airplane in the water due to unsuitable terrain in the area for an emergency landing. After the airplane cleared the power lines, he made a descent towards the water. The airplane impacted the water at 60 miles per hour. An engine inspection and teardown were conducted after the aircraft was recovered from the lake with no discrepancies noted that would have precluded normal operation. Eight gallons of fuel was recovered from the left fuel tank, and no fuel was recovered from the right fuel tank. No fuel was found in the fuel injector nozzles, that were found to be clear of debris. The fuel lines were clear and intact. No fuel was found in the engine driven fuel pump.
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The pusher configuration propeller departed the airplane during flight and the airplane impacted trees during a forced landing in a field. The pilot was established in cruise flight at 7,500 feet mean sea level when he felt a vibration. The vibration then became "severe" and he heard a series of clinking noises. He immediately began preparations for an emergency landing because he knew that his propeller had separated from the airplane. The pilot force-landed the airplane in a vacant field. The pilot stated that about 2 weeks prior to the accident he had removed the wooden American Propeller and installed a different propeller. The new propeller was too long for ground clearance so the pilot reinstalled the original wooden American Propeller. The original hardware was used to install the propeller and the bolts were torqued to the recommended amount. The bolts were also safety wired. After its installation, the propeller was operationally tested. Prior
to its removal, the propeller had been installed on the airplane for about 1 year with no operational or mechanical problems noted. The pilot did not have any other reported vibrations on flights leading up to the accident. Post accident examination by the responding airport personnel showed that the propeller and the attachment bolts were not on the propeller flange. Three of the bolt holes showed evidence of rubbing and partial elongation of the holes. The propeller and its attachment hardware were not recovered.
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The airplane's canopy separated from the cockpit during the landing descent, and substantially damaged the empennage. The pilot indicated that he had not experienced any malfunction with the canopy's operation when he initiated the flight, and that the latch was in the closed position when the separation occurred. A subsequent search for the separated canopy was unsuccessful. An examination of the airplane revealed that the leading edge of the left horizontal stabilizer was crushed inward over approximately a 1-foot-long span. Also, the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer was similarly crushed in an aft direction. This was the first flight following the company's removal and reinstallation of a serviceable canopy. The company mechanics suggested that they may not have verified that the canopy's locking pins were positively engaged in the support lugs on the airframe during reinstallation of the canopy.