NTSB Identification: WPR15LA089
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident
occurred
Sunday, January 25, 2015
in
Maui, HI
Probable Cause Approval Date:
07/13/2015
Aircraft:
CIRRUS SR22 - NO SERIES, registration:
N7YT
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
NTSB
investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation
and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft
accident report.
The pilot reported that, during the transpacific flight, he was unable to transfer fuel from the aft auxiliary fuel tank to the main fuel tanks.
Despite multiple attempts to troubleshoot the fuel system issue, he was unable to correct the situation. After transferring fuel from the forward auxiliary fuel tank to both main fuel tanks, he estimated that there was only enough fuel in the main tanks to reach within about 200 miles of land, so he decided to divert to a nearby cruise ship.
Once the airplane was in the immediate vicinity of the cruise ship, the pilot activated the airplane’s parachute system, the parachute deployed, and the airplane descended under the canopy into the ocean.
The pilot immediately exited the airplane and inflated an emergency life raft; he was recovered from the water a short time later. The airplane subsequently became submerged in the water and was not recovered.
The reason for the pilot’s inability to transfer fuel from the aft auxiliary fuel tank to the main fuel tanks could not be determined.
The pilot reported that, during the transpacific flight, he was unable to transfer fuel from the aft auxiliary fuel tank to the main fuel tanks.
Despite multiple attempts to troubleshoot the fuel system issue, he was unable to correct the situation. After transferring fuel from the forward auxiliary fuel tank to both main fuel tanks, he estimated that there was only enough fuel in the main tanks to reach within about 200 miles of land, so he decided to divert to a nearby cruise ship.
Once the airplane was in the immediate vicinity of the cruise ship, the pilot activated the airplane’s parachute system, the parachute deployed, and the airplane descended under the canopy into the ocean.
The pilot immediately exited the airplane and inflated an emergency life raft; he was recovered from the water a short time later. The airplane subsequently became submerged in the water and was not recovered.
The reason for the pilot’s inability to transfer fuel from the aft auxiliary fuel tank to the main fuel tanks could not be determined.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot’s inability to transfer fuel from the aft auxiliary fuel tank to the main fuel tanks for reasons that could not be determined because the airplane was ditched and not recovered.