Fuel suspected in plane crash

PROVO — Investigators are looking at the fuel delivery system of a plane that crashed Oct. 21 at Provo Municipal Airport, killing its pilot.

Benjamin Hill, 30, contacted an air traffic controller at 4:08 p.m., just seven minutes after he took off alone from the airport, and said he had lost all engine power, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Minutes later, the plane crashed into the south embankment of a perimeter dike road, about 760 feet short of the runway. The Springville man died at the scene.

Hill was a student in Utah Valley University's aviation science administrative program and a certified flight instructor for the school.

The report states the air traffic controller watched the plane's descent and saw "no unusual maneuvering" and "no evidence of smoke."

An examination of the plane found 10 gallons of fuel in its left-wing fuel tank, but none in its right-wing tank, according to the report. In addition, fuel was found in some engine parts and fuel lines, while other fuel lines in the engine compartment were dry.

The right-wing fuel line was broken open in the impact, but there was no evidence of fuel on the ground beneath that side of the plane, the report states.

The fuel tank selector valve, fuel pumps and fuel tank gauges are all being examined.

Wayne Pollack, the NTSB's investigator-in-charge for the inquiry, said he could not comment on what may have caused the engine failure until he completes a final report in six to nine months.

— Paul Koepp