While the National Transportation Safety Board does not normally determine a probable cause for an aircraft accident for months, or sometimes years after an event, the preliminary report the Board released of a July 11, 2019, accident involving an Icon A5 made it clear the pilot did not understand how to calculate the airplane’s actual fuel consumption in a variety of conditions. The Icon’s 100-hp Rotax 912iS engine quit as the airplane approached a 3-mile left base leg for Runway 16 at Chicago Executive Airport (PWK) just prior to darkness. Investigators found the Icon’s fuel tank to absolutely dry. The pilot escaped unharmed, but the A5 was destroyed when the aircraft struck trees and terrain in a nearby forest preserve.
NTSB Points to Pilot Error in Icon Crash Near Chicago
Key Takeaways:
- The NTSB's preliminary report on a 2019 Icon A5 crash indicated the pilot miscalculated the aircraft's actual fuel consumption, leading to the engine quitting due to a completely dry fuel tank.
- The pilot operated the Rotax engine at nearly maximum power for over half the flight, burning fuel at 6.9-7.1 gph, significantly higher than the 4.8 gph economy setting used in his flight planning software.
- This high-power operation violated the aircraft's operating placards and resulted in consuming far more fuel than anticipated, making it impossible to land with the expected reserve and causing the accident.
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