Message-ID: <000901be50b7$8c3567a0$5c830304@pavilion>
Reply-To: "Carl Lindros" <350cl@silcom.com>
From: "Carl Lindros" <350cl@silcom.com>
To: "lancair list" <lancair.list@olsusa.com>
Subject: John Denver
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 19:28:05 -0800
Mime-Version: 1.0

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When my friends find out I fly an experimental plane they invariably ask
about John Denver..  here's the latest.  Thought you might like see this
NTSB excerpt:

NTSB Releases Results Of John Denver Crash Investigation
Findings Cite Lack of Fuel And Long-EZ Experience

Singer-songwriter John Denver had thousands of flight hours in everything
from sailplanes to Learjets, but lack of experience in his newly-acquired
Long-EZ was a contributing factor in the crash that killed him in October
1997. The NTSB last week released its determination of the accident's
probable cause, including the safety recommendations resulting from its
investigation. Other contributing factors include too little fuel in one
tank, and Denver's inadvertently placing the Long-EZ into a roll while his
attention was diverted trying to switch to his backup fuel tank. The NTSB
concluded that Denver's plane had only about three gallons of fuel in its
left tank when he took off from the Monterey (Calif.) Peninsula Airport to
practice takeoffs and landings. The right tank had only about six gallons,
but Denver declined an offer to refuel. Witnesses said they heard a sputter,
and investigators theorize that Denver ran out of fuel in the left tank and
had trouble switching to his right tank. The original plans for the Long-EZ
call for the fuel selector handle to be located between the pilot's legs,
but the plane's builder told investigators he put it behind the pilot's left
shoulder because he did not want fuel in the cockpit. This location would
have required Denver to remove his shoulder harness and turn around to
switch tanks. While doing so, Denver could have pressed on the plane's right
rudder pedal, causing the aircraft to roll. The NTSB also found that Denver
may have been unfamiliar with the plane's fuel gauges and the tank selector
handle because they were not marked.