Czech Sport SPORTCRUISER

Full Narrative

On December 22, 2018, around 1330 eastern standard time, a Czech Sport Sportcruiser, N564SC, was substantially damaged after it impacted trees following a bird strike near Naples, Florida. The private pilot sustained serious injuries and the pilot-rated-passenger sustained minor injuries. The private pilot succumbed to his injuries on January 23, 2019. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight that originated from Naples Municipal Airport (APF), Naples, Florida, around 1315. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.According to the pilot-rated-passenger, after fueling the airplane to 20 gallons, he and the pilot departed the airport. They proceeded to climb to 2,500 ft above ground level, and about 25 miles east of APF, the airplane struck a large bird. The engine continued to operate for about 2 minutes, until the "low fuel" warning indicator illuminated, and then the engine stopped producing power. The pilot declared an emergency and elected to perform a forced landing on a road. During the landing roll, the airplane struck a road sign and several large trees, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane.

An examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the fuselage and wings were impact damaged during the accident sequence. The nose wheel faring and the underside of the engine cowling revealed evidence of a bird strike. Examination of the carburetor revealed that the butterfly valve operated without anomaly, however, fuel was leaking from the assembly. Examination of the engine could not differentiate the damage that resulted from the bird strike versus the collision during the landing.