LA-4-200 Buccaneer
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 30; Flight Crew Total 2900; Flight Crew Type 19
Workload; Situational Awareness; Time Pressure
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue
Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action; Flight Crew Inflight Shutdown; Flight Crew Diverted
Aircraft
After completing the morning preflight on the airplane and calling the briefer at around sunrise; I loaded my personal belongings aboard the plane and fueled up its main tank to the very top of the filler neck. The main fuel tank holds 40 gallons. I purchased 21.49 gallons of fuel to fill the tank before departure.About an hour after my briefing; I texted the person I was going to pick up to let them know I was going to be taking off and; according to ForeFlight with winds; I would be arriving with an ETA of 2.5 hrs after takeoff. During the climb; I contacted the nearby airport tower for VFR flight following during my flight. I was diverted around the airport for morning traffic arrivals. After coming around the east side of the airport; I was released to continue on course.With the cloud cover ranging from clear to overcast and excellent visibility above; I elected to climb to a higher altitude to maintain VFR. I was VFR over the top in excellent visibility and enroute to my intended fuel stop. Upon arriving in the area and listening to the AWOS-3; it stated the ceiling was missing. Not wanting to descend where the weather was less than ideal and hunt for the airport; I elected to continue to a nearby airport because the weather there was clear.Shortly thereafter arriving in the vicinity of my divert airport; the engine sputtered. I immediately switched the boost pump on; started pitching for Vy; tightened my seatbelt; and re-evaluated landing options. The engine ran for a few seconds; sputtered; and stopped. I initiated an immediate right descending turn to line up on the road I had selected for minimal traffic. I elected to keep the gear up until on very short final to give myself the best glide. I gained a little speed to prevent a stall-spin crash and to account for the gear deployment drag. When I judged I had just enough I dropped the gear and pitched for landing. I left the flaps up because the hydraulic system runs both flaps and gear. I made the choice to operate the landing gear and didn't have the time to pressurize the hydraulic system and deploy the flaps.On touchdown; I bounced a little; cushioned; and planted the aircraft. There was a side road I coasted to and stopped the aircraft. I switched off the battery and switches; opened the door before getting out. My touchdown time was three hours after takeoff.During the flight I leaned to a standard 50 degrees rich of peak; adjusting as needed for altitude changes. The power setting was maintained at 24'; 2400 RPM; in addition. My previous operating experience in the aircraft of around 13 hours indicated that I should expect around a 10 GPH fuel burn. With a total flight time of approximately 3 hours; I expected to have a lot of additional fuel remaining at the time the engine stopped.After I was able to look at the plane; I saw what appears to be the cause of the incident. The fuel bladder inside the fuel tank had collapsed into the tank after it pulled off its rear hanger; and moved inward. When I topped off before departing; the collapsed fuel bladder prevented me from filling the fuel tank to capacity. Though I filled the fuel tank to the top of the filler neck; the collapsed fuel bladder prevented me from fueling to capacity.
The reporter stated that with the fuel cap off he saw the bladder cell collapsed. After returning to the FBO; Maintenance could see the cell detached from after hanger but the reporter does not know the reason the cell detached yet. He thought a fuel storage system service bulletin was issued a number of years ago but had not seen it.
A LA4-200 engine quit because of fuel starvation because the bladder cell had detached from its rear hanger and collapsed preventing the pilot from filling it completely during preflight.