FYI NTSB: Denver's Plane Short of Fuel By GLEN JOHNSON Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Singer John Denver died in an airplane crash because he took off with too little fuel in one tank, had trouble switching to his backup tank and inadvertently put his plane into a roll while his attention was diverted, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded today. The board, in a 5-0 vote, also blamed a builder's decision to relocate the fuel-tank-selector handle, an absence of markings on the handle and nearby fuel gauges, as well as Denver's lack of training in his new plane. It crashed Oct. 12, 1997, off Pacific Grove, Calif. The board urged the Federal Aviation Administration and the Experimental Aircraft Association to develop a program under which new pilots of experimental planes - like the one Denver was flying - would receive formalized training before their first flights. Board members noted the planes are sometimes difficult to handle. ``This is not just somebody who flew his (Cessna) 172 around the pattern,'' said board member Robert T. Francis. ``This was an experienced pilot.'' The 53-year-old singer-songwriter, famous for such hits as ``Rocky Mountain High'' and ``Sunshine On My Shoulders,'' was the lone passenger when his plane plunged about 150 feet straight into the waters off California's Monterey Peninsula. He had bought the aircraft only two weeks earlier and had limited flying time as its pilot. After hearing from its investigators, the board concluded that Denver's plane had only about three gallons of fuel in its left tank when he took off from the Monterey Peninsula Airport in the late afternoon 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 he ran out of fuel in the left tank and had trouble switching to his right tank. The plans for Denver's homemade Long E-Z say the fuel-selector handle - which switches the fuel flow between the left and right tanks - should be located between the pilot's legs. But the plane's builder, Texas aircraft maker Adrian Davis Jr., told investigators he put it behind the pilot's left shoulder because he did not want fuel in the cockpit. On the day of the crash, Denver and a maintenance technician talked about the inaccessibility of the handle. ``They tried a pair of Vise Grip pliers on the handle to extend the reach of the handle, but this did not work,'' said one investigative report. Under those circumstances, the pilot would have had to remove his shoulder harness, turn around and switch the handle. While doing so, the pilot would press on the plane's right rudder pedal, causing the aircraft to roll. The investigators told the board that Denver may have been unfamiliar with the plane's fuel gauges and the tank-selector handle because they were not marked. The fuel gauges - with vertical windows showing the fuel in each wing tank - also can be misleading because they do not represent the volume in a linear fashion. When the fuel rises to one-quarter on the window, for example, it does not indicate that the 26-gallon tank is one-quarter full. In reality, it contains less than 5 gallons. The EAA, a widely praised private group, has developed a program to teach many first-time pilots how to make a safe transition to their new planes. The safety board now wants the FAA and EAA to require more formalized training for pilots of experimental planes. Also, the board recommended that the FAA require markings on vital aircraft controls such as the fuel gauge and tank-selector handle, and also demand that the markings be inspected annually
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