ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 30533
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| Date: | Saturday 22 May 1999 |
| Time: | 17:25 |
| Type: |  Cessna 414 |
| Owner/operator: | Robert J. Scott |
| Registration: | N8153Q |
| MSN: | 414-0053 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Orland, California -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | San Jose, California (RHV/KRHV) |
| Redding, California (RDD/KRDD) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
The pilot refuelled the auxiliary tanks of the airplane at a different airport 1 month prior to the accident, and had not flown on the auxiliary tanks since that time. He was re-positioning the airplane back to home base after a series of revenue flights when the accident occurred. About 20 minutes after takeoff he positioned the left and right engines to their respective auxiliary fuel tanks, and then returned to the mains 30 minutes later. The right engine began to surge and subsequently stopped running. Turning on the fuel boost pump restarted the engine. Five minutes later the engine quit and he secured it after unsuccessful restart attempts.
Then the left engine began to surge and was developing only partial power. He diverted to an alternate airport with decaying altitude and power in the remaining engine. Crossing the airport, he saw he was too high to land with a tailwind so he circled to land into the wind. On the base leg he made the decision to land straight ahead in a field due to power lines in his path, rapidly decaying altitude, and power.
During the landing roll, the airplane collided with a ditch. The left and right main fuel filters contained a foreign substance, which upon laboratory examination, was found to be a polyacrylamide. This is a man-made synthetic polymer that is used as an agricultural soil amendment that aids in reducing soil erosion. Distribution of the polymer is typically not done by aircraft. Inspection of the fuelling facility revealed that the employees who do refuelling did not have any formal or on-the-job training.
There was no record that the delivery system filters had been examined or changed. The maintenance to the truck, delivery system, and storage facility are done by the employees on an as needed, time permitted basis. The fuel truck was found to be improperly labelled, and the fuel nozzle was lying in a compartment amid dirt, gravel, and other contaminates with no caps or covers for protection.
Probable Cause
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: A loss of engine power in both engines due to fuel contamination, which resulted from the fuelling facilities improper quality control procedures.
Sources:
1. NTSB Accident Number: LAX99LA188 at https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20001212X18817&AKey=1&RType=Summary&IType=LA
2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=8153Q
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 21 May 1999 | N8153Q | Private | 0 | Orland, CA | |
sub |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 28-Jun-2018 16:21 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 28-Jun-2018 16:21 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 28-Jun-2018 16:23 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
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