Accident Van's RV-6 N34C,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 353370
 
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Date:Sunday 9 May 1999
Time:11:00 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic RV6 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Van's RV-6
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N34C
MSN: 001
Total airframe hrs:300 hours
Engine model:Lycoming O-360-A1F6D
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Apalachicola, FL -   United States of America
Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:Private
Departure airport:
Destination airport:
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The pilot said that after lift-off the airplane was accelerated to 75 knots and was climbed to 500 feet, at which time he began a left turn and set the power to 2500 rpm, and 25 inches manifold pressure. About that time the engine began losing power and he turned back to the field complex. He said, 'the engine quit...and [I] tried to maintain about 70 to 75 knots. At this time I was extremely busy maintaining aircraft control and trying to steer the aircraft to the airport clearing...it became apparent that I was not going to make the clearing I stalled the airplane into the top of pine saplings at about 45 knots or so. After the aircraft came to rest I turned all switches off and rotated the fuel selector off.' The engine was test run under the supervision of the FAA, after it was removed from the crash site. According to the FAA inspector, '...the engine started and was run for 30 minutes...the maximum rpm achieved was 2460 rpm (static) when the mixture control was placed in the fully leaned position. The engine would not exceed 2000 rpm (static) when [the] mixture control was in the full rich position.' The fuel selector valve showed evidence of internal failure, but when used in the post accident engine run, it did not cause engine failure, the carburetor was setup and functioned properly, but due to the amount and location of rust found internally, the possibility existed that it could have affected engine operation, the airplane had sufficient fuel onboard for the intended flight, the specific cause for failure of the engine after takeoff could not be positively determined.

Probable Cause: A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: MIA99LA151
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 4 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB MIA99LA151

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
09-Mar-2024 13:14 ASN Update Bot Added

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