Investigation number
199302584
Occurrence date
State
New South Wales
Report release date
Report status
Final
Investigation type
Occurrence Investigation
Investigation status
Completed
Aviation occurrence type
Collision with terrain
Occurrence category
Accident

The aircraft was being ferried from Bankstown to Perth, a journey expected to extend over several days. During the first sector, the pilots became aware of non VMC weather at Wagga and decided to divert to Cootamundra. It was reported that at about the time this decision was taken, they noticed the left fuel tank was not feeding and that fuel was being drawn from the right tank only. Assuming a fuel system malfunction, and a reduced endurance of about 15 minutes, the pilot-in-command decided to carry out a precautionary landing. A section of gravel road was chosen for a landing site, as nearby paddocks were unsuitable. Although the touchdown was normal, the aircraft began to veer to the right on the heavily cambered road surface. When the pilot was unable to regain directional control, full power was applied for a go round. The aircraft became airborne, still diverging to the right, and collided with a boundary fence before nosing over into an adjacent paddock. The Skyfox CA 22 aircraft has two fuel tanks, one in each wing, which feed into a common collector tank via a two position, on/off fuel selector. Each tank is vented via a port in each fuel cap. Asymmetric fuel flow from the tanks is known to occur occasionally and one tank is exhausted first, upon which the remaining tank feeds normally. The manufacturer is expected to soon issue an amendment to the Flight manual by which pilots will be warned by a cautionary note of this phenomenon.

Aircraft Details
Manufacturer
Skyfox Aviation Ltd
Model
CA-22A
Registration
VH-DCD
Sector
Piston
Departure point
Bankstown NSW
Destination
Wagga NSW
Damage
Substantial