About 8 years ago on a perfect winter’s morning, I was conducting a flight from a Class D aerodrome. It was an IFR flight in VMC and one I did regularly for my work.
I was cleared to depart and make a right turn onto my heading of 320. A very smooth take-off roll with everything normal and an initial climb out ensued. Flaps up at 500 feet and, at 600, I turned off the electric boost fuel pump. The pilot’s operating handbook said the fuel pump was to be turned off in the climb but for some reason that day, I turned it off far earlier than usual.
Straight after that I lost engine power, with the tachometer rapidly heading to zero! I instinctively lowered the nose, commenced a left turn to try to land somewhere in the airport precinct and called the tower: ‘[My call sign] engine failure, attempting a landing on the field.’
I also followed some advice an older pilot had given me: when something bad happens, undo the last thing you did. In the seconds following, I turned the boost pump on and the engine came to life!
However, as this happened, I had a call from the tower telling me to turn right as instructed instead of the left turn I had commenced.
When something bad happens, undo the last thing you did.
With the engine seemingly performing well again, I followed the instruction, requested a climb to 4,000 feet AGL but to remain close to the field. I felt I had suffered the loss of the engine-driven fuel pump which caused the loss of power after turning off the electric boost pump. On reaching altitude, I turned the boost pump off to find the engine die again, so asked for an immediate return to land, after turning the boost pump on again.
After shutting down and stepping out of the aeroplane, there was a large puddle of Avgas under the engine and dripping off the exhaust. Subsequent investigation found the fuel line had partly separated from the injector and, while the boost pump was on, enough fuel was being pumped into the engine to run normally. Once the boost pump was off, air was being sucked in which made the mixture so lean the engine stopped. It was sobering to think what may have happened if the flight had continued as planned. 
Related content
- Practise emergency drills so your response is automatic under pressure.
- If a failure follows an action, reverse that step during checks.
- Maintain aircraft control before troubleshooting or communicating.
- If engine reliability is in doubt, return to land.
Online extras
Don’t forget to check out the audio close calls and hear the stories come to life.
Flight planning is one of the special topics on our Pilot safety hub. Refresh your knowledge.
Have you had a close call?
8 in 10 pilots say they learn best from other pilots and your narrow escape can be a valuable lesson. We invite you to share your experience to help us improve aviation safety, whatever your role.
Find out more and share your close call.
Disclaimer
Close calls are contributed by readers like you. They are personal accounts of individual experiences and are not corroborated by CASA. We publish close calls so others can learn from their stories and spark discussions about safety. These stories should not be used to identify individuals or operators.
