Accident Aero Commander 100 N5573M,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 263741
 
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Date:Saturday 4 January 2020
Time:17:00 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic VO10 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Aero Commander 100
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N5573M
MSN: 107
Year of manufacture:1967
Total airframe hrs:2335 hours
Engine model:Lycoming Engines O-320-A2B
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Mullin, TX -   United States of America
Phase: Approach
Nature:Training
Departure airport:Abilene Regional Airport, TX (ABI/KABI)
Destination airport:Mullin, TX
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The flight instructor and student pilot were conducting a cross-country flight. During a gradual descent to the destination airstrip, the engine lost total power, and the airplane sustained substantial damage during the subsequent forced landing. The airplane was recovered from the accident site and an engine examination and test run revealed no anomalies.

Examination of the fuel selector revealed that either the fuel selector handle or the pointer was installed 180° out of position. When the selector handle was selected to BOTH, the valve was completely closed, in what should have been the OFF position. When the selector handle was selected to OFF, the valve was open, in what should have been the BOTH position.

The temperature and dewpoint for the accident time and accident site were not conducive to the formation of carburetor icing.

It is possible that if the fuel selector was manipulated to the BOTH position during the flight, the fuel may have been prevented from reaching the engine due to the incorrect installation of the selector handle. However, the examination could not determine whether it was the selector handle or the pointer that was installed incorrectly. Based on the available evidence, the reason for the total loss of engine power could not be determined.

Probable Cause: A total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: CEN20LA055
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 9 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB CEN20LA055

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
09-Jun-2021 06:17 aaronwk Added
08-Jul-2022 11:40 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

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