ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 233000
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| Date: | Sunday 16 February 2020 |
| Time: | morning |
| Type: |  Piper PA-32-300 Cherokee Six |
| Owner/operator: | Air Colibri Parachutisme |
| Registration: | F-OKGO |
| MSN: | 32-7940217 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Baie de Fort de France -
 Martinique
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Parachuting |
| Departure airport: | Fort-de-France-Aimé Césaire International Airport (FDF/TFFF) |
| Fort-de-France-Aimé Césaire International Airport (FDF/TFFF) | |
| Investigating agency: | BEA |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot, accompanied by two tandems of parachutists, took off at 8.45 a.m. from the Fort-de-France aerodrome for a drop flight. This was the second flight on the first day of commercial operation of this aircraft.
Passing 2,600 m for 3,000 m, the pilot noticed a drop in engine speed and the engine misfired, despite his actions on the throttle control.
The pilot estimated 10 US gallons remaining in the selected tank from the fuel gauge indication. He then worried about the possibility of a technical failure due to the fact that the aircraft was coming out of a long maintenance period. He ordered the skydivers to jump at 09:13 above the planned release point and at the altitude.
He then put the aircraft in descent. Operation seemed to be returning to normal and the pilot therefore began to return to the aerodrome.
On final approach for runway 10 over the bay of Fort-de-France, the pilot was cleared for landing at 09:18 and, while he activated the throttle control, noticed the lack of efficiency and erratic engine behavior.
The pilot then carried out a ditching in the bay. The pilot, equipped with a life jacket, managed to evacuate the plane before it sank about 550 m from the coast. He was rescued by a boat 25 minutes later.
About an hour and twenty after the first “block” departure, when fuel from the only left tank was used, the pilot was confronted with an engine malfunction. The pilot, who had very little experience with this airplane, was not aware that the fuel consumed corresponded to the quantity of fuel initially usable in the selected tank. In addition, the aircraft coming out of a long maintenance, the pilot focused on the possibility of a technical failure, while the engine was most likely suffering from a power failure.
During the descent, the propeller rotation being assisted by the relative wind and the power demand on the engine becoming almost zero, the symptoms of the malfunction disappeared, which gave the pilot the impression that the anomaly had disappeared. This probably prompted him to join the aerodrome without taking any special measures.
When he acted on the throttle again to get more power on final, the fuel remaining in the circuit most likely ran out completely, which led to the total loss of power and did not allow the pilot to maintain the glide path. The latter having no doubts that there was still fuel, it is likely that he did not consider changing the tank as a possible strategy. In these circumstances, he was forced to conduct a ditching.
In the absence of an examination of the engine, the investigation did not make it possible to rule out the hypothesis of an anomaly of the latter, but it is nevertheless very likely that the accident was due to a fault in the power supply. in fuel.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.rci.fm/martinique/infos/Faits-divers/Un-petit-avion-tombe-dans-la-baie-de-Fort-de-France
https://www.bea.aero/index.php?id=40&news=22802&cHash=094dce7536755c6cf9af8759aa15339e
https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/1/6/7/5268761.jpg?v=v49108a29467 (photo)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinique
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Feb-2020 20:17 | Iceman 29 | Added |
| 16-Feb-2020 20:18 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Narrative] |
| 16-Feb-2020 21:06 | RobertMB | Updated [Country, Departure airport, Destination airport] |
| 16-Feb-2020 22:36 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Location, Country, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Feb-2020 07:23 | harro | Updated [Country] |
| 21-Feb-2020 12:21 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Feb-2020 15:29 | RobertMB | Updated [Cn, Location, Narrative] |
| 25-Jul-2021 09:23 | harro | Updated [Narrative, Accident report] |
| 23-May-2022 09:33 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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