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| Date: | Saturday 17 January 2004 |
| Time: | 11:15 |
| Type: |  Hughes 369D |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | ZK-HDZ |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Cheviot -
 New Zealand
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA NZ |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
During agricultural operations the pilot noticed that the aircraft was losing power. He elected to carry out a precautionary landing, during which "popping noises" were heard coming from the engine, followed by a complete power failure. A heavy landing an d rollover occurred. It was determined that the engine failure was caused by fuel starvation. The aircraft was inspected and found to have a defective fuel quantity indicating system. The "wheatstone bridge" in the fuel gauge cluster was reported to have a faulty resistor. This defect was probably responsible for the erroneous fuel quantity indications. The low level warning light either didn't operate correctly or was not noticed by the pilot. The engineers advise that the defect in the fuel gauge is probably due to ageing and recommend that the gauges are checked annually as a precaution.
Sources:
CAA NZ Occurrence 04/113
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-May-2025 18:12 | ASN | Added |
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