Apparently he had his pilot's license was up for review...and was flying without a valid license because of questions concerning his drinking. ( He had had a recent DUI..)
According to what I could find fairly fast....it appeared to be pilot error..and cockpit design that caused his crash.
My humble apologies.....
"On the day of the accident, Denver knowingly took off with just 3_ gallons of fuel in the left wing-root tank and 6_ gallons in the right tank. Both tanks hold 26 gallons. In fact, the engine had popped and stopped, probably from fuel starvation, when the plane was on the ground. Denver was observed turning to switch the fuel valve to another tank before takeoff.
Shortly thereafter, the engine popping was heard again, and the airplane pitched over and crashed into the water off Pacific Grove, Calif. The likely scenario: When the engine stopped in flight, Denver turned to flip the fuel tank switch. Based on test flights after the crash, as he turned his body while reaching for the switch, his foot inadvertently pressed down on the rudder pedal.
The Long-EZ is sensitive to rudder inputs and it is possible to aileron-roll the airplane from rudder inputs only.
The Board concluded tersely: "...the builder's decision to locate the unmarked fuel selector handle in a hard-to-access position...inadequate transition training by the pilot, and his lack of total experience in the type of airplane were factors in the accident." The findings have a universal application: to those designing and those flying everything from ultralights to jumbo jets.
A certified true copy of the pilot's FAA medical record files were obtained and reviewed by Safety Board investigators. According to the pilot's FAA medical records, the physician who examined the pilot on June 13, 1996, issued a third-class medical certificate to the pilot at the conclusion of the examination. His FAA medical records further showed that on November 6, 1996, the FAA Civil Aeromedical Certification Division sent the pilot a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, acknowledging receipt of his June 13, 1996, medical application and stating, in part:
We had previously received an interim report from H. C. Whitcomb, Jr., M.D., pertinent to your alcohol problem. Dr. Whitcomb reported that "in general averages two to four drinks of either wine or beer/week when he's traveling." He further stated that there has been no abuse, (see footnote 1) ...in our letter of October 18, 1995, we specified that your "continued airman medical certification remains contingent upon your total abstinence for use of alcohol."
The letter informs the pilot that based on the above information, he did not meet the medical standards prescribed in Part 67 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, and a determination was made that he was not qualified for any class of medical certificate at that time. The letter further states: "If you do not wish to voluntarily return your certificate, your file may be sent to our regional office for appropriate action." According to U. S. Postal Service markings on the envelope, the letter was returned unclaimed to the FAA on December 2, 1996.
Examination of the FAA medical file disclosed that following the return of the unclaimed November 6, 1996, letter there was no followup action by the FAA until March 25, 1997, when the agency sent the pilot a second letter by certified mail, return request requested, again notifying him that he was medically disqualified. The return receipt for the certified letter was examined by Safety Board investigators; however, the signature of the person who had signed for the mail was illegible.
Actually, the cockpit layout was fine as originally designed. The problem was that the builder of the airplane Denver bought decided that he didn't want fuel lines in the cockpit, so he moved the fuel selector from between the pilots legs to the leading edge of the wing.
This change necessitated that a long shaft be installed between the fuel selector and cockpit. The location of this shaft ended up being located behind the pilots left shoulder. Since the shaft used a weird linkage, it was stiff in operation and required the use of a pair of vise-grips to switch tanks. Because of it's awkward location, it required that the pilot assume an un-natural position in order to switch tanks.
When Denver ran out of fuel on take-off, he tried to switch tanks and as the report says, probably stepped on a rudder pedal and sent his airplane into an uncontrolled spiral.
I rememeber about the fuel selector now. Poor design.