If I recall correctly, he ran out of gas over Monterrey Bay.
That’s “Monterey” with one r. “Monterrey” is in Mexico.
If I recall correctly, he ran out of gas over Monterrey Bay.
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It was theorized that he lost control while switching fuel tanks in one of Burt Rutan’s death traps.
Denver didn’t run out of gas. He was in the process of changing fuel tanks when he nosedived. The analysis was pretty straightforward. In that plane, to change tanks it was necessary to twist around and stretch out toward the rear. It was nearly impossible to do that without pressing a foot against the rudder. Pushing the rudder under those circumstances would send the plane into a nosedive.
It was a design flaw. Denver could have learned to change tanks without it leading to catastrophy, but it would have taken at least one extra practice run. He didn’t get that chance; his first try was his last try.
I listen to several of his songs. Talented guy.
The engine had to have gone thru him as the plane went straight down.
Describes the layout and the 3 pieces they recovered of him.
https://tighar.org/smf/index.php?topic=563.0
The plans for the Long E-Z kit aircraft say that 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, aircraft maker Adrian Davis Jr., said 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,” the report said.
Under those circumstances, the pilot would have had to remove his shoulder harness, turn around and switch the handle.
http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jun/23/news/mn-62708
On January 27, 1999, the NTSB concluded the probable cause was Denver’s fatal accident was the pilot’s diversion of attention from the operation of the airplane and his inadvertent application of right rudder that resulted in the loss of airplane control while attempting to manipulate the fuel selector handle. Also, the NTSB determined that the pilot’s inadequate preflight planning and preparation, specifically his failure to refuel the airplane, was causal.
The NTSB further determined that the builder’s decision to locate the unmarked fuel selector handle in a hard-to-access position, unmarked fuel quantity sight gauges, inadequate transition training by the pilot, and his lack of total experience in this type of airplane were factors in the accident.
http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/John-Denver-N555JD.htm