ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 169679
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| Date: | Wednesday 10 September 2014 |
| Time: | 13:26 |
| Type: |  Ted Smith Aerostar 601P |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N711YM |
| MSN: | 61P-0215-023 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1975 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3438 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-540-S1A5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | nr Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Austin, TX (AUS/KAUS) -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Dallas, TX (KRBD) |
| Austin, TX (KAUS) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Witnesses reported observing the airplane flying slowly toward the airport at a low altitude. The left engine was at a low rpm; "sputtering," "knocking," or making a "banging" noise; and trailing black smoke. One witness said that, as the airplane passed over his location, he saw the tail "kick" horizontally to the right and the airplane bank slightly left. The airplane subsequently collided with trees and impacted a field 1/2 mile north of the airport.
Disassembly of the right engine revealed no anomalies, and signatures on the right propeller blades were consistent with power and rotation on impact. The left propeller was found feathered. Disassembly of the left engine revealed that the spark plugs were black and heavily carbonized, consistent with a rich fuel-air mixture; the exhaust tubing also exhibited dark sooting. The rubber boot that connected the intercooler to the fuel injector servo was found dislodged and partially sucked in toward the servo. The clamp used to secure the hose was loose but remained around the servo, the safety wire on the clamp was in place, and the clamp was not impact damaged or bent. The condition of the boot and the clamp were consistent with improper installation. The time since the last overhaul of the left engine was about 1,050 hours. The last 100-hour inspection occurred 3 months before the accident, and the airplane had been flown only 0.8 hour since then. It could not be determined when the rubber boot was improperly installed. Although the left engine had failed, the pilot should have been able to fly the airplane and maintain altitude on the operable right engine, particularly since he had appropriately feathered the left engine.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient clearance from trees during the single-engine landing approach. Contributing to the accident was the loss of power in the left engine due to an improperly installed rubber boot that became dislodged and was then partially sucked into the fuel injector servo, which caused an excessively rich fuel-air mixture that would not support combustion.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 19 September 1992 | N711YM | Private | 0 | Bakersfield, CA | |
sub |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Sep-2014 19:18 | harro | Added |
| 10-Sep-2014 19:23 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Phase, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 11-Sep-2014 14:27 | Chieftain | Updated [Total occupants, Departure airport] |
| 11-Sep-2014 14:27 | harro | Updated [Registration, Source, Narrative] |
| 14-Oct-2014 23:50 | Geno | Updated [Time, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 30-Nov-2017 19:13 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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