ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 211945
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| Date: | Sunday 28 May 2017 |
| Time: | 09:10 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-36-300 Pawnee Brave |
| Owner/operator: | Trade Wind Ag Services Inc |
| Registration: | N3711E |
| MSN: | 36-7860044 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1978 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4586 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-540-K1G5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | El Campo, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | El Campo, TX (8TE8) |
| El Campo, TX (8TE8) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The commercial pilot was conducting an agricultural application flight when the airplane experienced a loss of engine power. The airplane subsequently impacted an adjacent field in a nose-low, left-wing-low attitude. Due to his injuries, the pilot did not recall the details of the accident flight, loss of engine power, or impact sequence.
The location of the wreckage, the debris field, and the damage to the airplane are consistent with the airplane being in a turn at the time of the accident. An examination of the engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. An examination of the fuel system revealed that the internal foam baffles in both fuel tanks were discolored and deteriorated, and they disintegrated into very fine particles when touched. According to the owner/operator, during routine maintenance 5 days before the accident, a mechanic found blue foam, which he identified as coming from the foam baffles, in the fuel filter at the engine. Subsequent periodic inspections of the screen revealed no contaminants. The postaccident examination of three fuel injector nozzles revealed that they were plugged with an unknown substance. In addition, evidence of water was found in the fuel flow divider.
It is likely that, given the condition of the foam baffles and the owner’s previous identification of foam in the fuel system, that the particles found in the fuel injector nozzles were from the foam baffles. This contamination, in combination with the water found in the fuel flow divider, likely resulted in the loss of engine power.
Probable Cause: Foam contamination in the fuel injector nozzles from deteriorated foam baffles and water in the fuel flow divider, the combination of which resulted in the loss of engine power.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Jun-2018 12:00 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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