MIA07LA120 · John D. Williams XT-912
John D. Williams XT-912 · Accident: total loss of engine power (non-mechanical) en route
From Williamsburg Jamestown Airport (JGG) to Williamsburg Jamestown Airport (JGG)
Event
- NTSB case
- MIA07LA120
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
- Completed
- API-reported fatalities
- 0 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- General aviation
- WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
- Visual Meteorological Cond
John D. Williams XT-912
- Aircraft type
- John D Williams XT-912
- Category
- Airplane
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- N133W
- Operator
- Unknown
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From Williamsburg Jamestown Airport (JGG), Williamsburg, VATo Williamsburg Jamestown Airport (JGG), Williamsburg, VA
- Aircraft age
- Not recorded
- Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
- En route · cruise
- First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
- Total loss of engine power (non-mechanical)
- Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
- Fuel starvation
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Substantial
Cause areas
- Pilot in command › Procedures/directives, not complied with
Approximate · Coordinates from the NTSB case API, which marks them as estimated or does not say; no uncertainty radius is established.
NTSB narrative
The pilot performed a preflight inspection of the airplane which included checking the fuel tank for contaminants; none were found. He was operating the airplane using unleaded automotive fuel containing up to 10 percent ethanol. He then departed on a local pleasure flight and approximately 30 minutes later, the engine began to cough. He looked for a landing area and while doing so, the engine began sputtering and losing power. He maneuvered for a forced landing to a field but the flight was too high and fast. He then performed S type turns in an effort to land in another field but the right main landing gear contacted the ground causing the gear to collapse. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed the element of the in-line fuel filter was blocked by contaminant which restricted flow from the filter. Additionally, the in-line fuel filter was 3/4 full of water; however, the carburetor bowl was full of clean fuel. No evidence of preimpact mechanical failure or malfunction was noted with the engine. An FAA issued SAIB indicates that fuel containing alcohol can have an affect on fuel system components and should not be used. A Rotax Service Instruction indicates that fuel containing more than 5 percent alcohol is not to be used.
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to comply with FAA and engine manufacturer directives resulting in deterioration of fuel system components by fuel containing ethanol and blockage of the fuel filter by contaminants.
Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset
Sources
NTSB record MIA07LA120
- Event ID
- 20070801X01076
- Case number
- MIA07LA120
- Dataset
- historical-pre2008
- Source SHA-256
- 89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
- Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
- Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status, coordinates. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
- The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
- API snapshot SHA-256: 2a6f50fe7bef94b236dfc41f39f00a2273bb87a1dd1b5ff7388d2f52ca25cff3; retrieved 2026-09-21T18:27:16.436Z.