ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 75874
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| Date: | Friday 23 July 2010 |
| Time: | 10:17 |
| Type: |  Cessna U206F Stationair |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N82531 |
| MSN: | U206-01734 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3946 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental IO-520-F3B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Lake Michigan -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Alma, MI (AMN) |
| Rochester, MN (RST) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot reported that he was crossing Lake Michigan at 10,000 feet above mean sea level when the engine lost power. He was near the mid-point (about 24 miles from the shoreline) of the lake with a 40-knot headwind, so he turned around to return to shore. He attempted to restart the engine but was unsuccessful. The pilot ditched the airplane about 5 miles from shore and it quickly sank. Postaccident inspection of the airplane revealed that the firewall fuel strainer gasket did not provide a complete seal between the fuel screen and the fuel strainer's upper body. A portion of the gasket was positioned over the exit port, which created a gap. This allowed debris in the fuel to migrate to the engine's fuel inlet filter screen in the fuel metering assembly. The inspection of the fuel inlet filter screen revealed that it was partially obstructed with debris. The orifice of the fuel inlet passage contained the same debris that obstructed the flow of fuel through the orifice to the fuel screen. The airplane had undergone an annual maintenance inspection about 7.5 hours prior to the accident. The mechanic, who had an inspection authorization, reported that he did not inspect the gasket on the firewall fuel strainer, nor did he remove and inspect the fuel inlet filter screen as required by the manufacturer's service manual. The debris was composed of materials similar to wood chips, sawdust, paint, varnish, cloth, glass fibers, metal shavings, sand, and soil. The source of the contaminants was not determined. The postaccident inspection revealed no other preexisting airframe anomalies. The engine was run on a test stand and the engine produced the rated horsepower. The airplane's owner's manual indicated that the glide distance for an airplane at 10,000 feet above the water's surface was 15 miles.
Probable Cause: The total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of accumulated debris in the fuel system from an undetermined source. Also causal was the inadequate annual maintenance inspection that did not include inspection of the firewall fuel strainer and the fuel inlet screen.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
http://www.themorningsun.com/articles/2010/07/23/news/doc4c49c5db3590b009598546.txt
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N82531
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 23-Jul-2010 10:26 | harro | Added |
| 23-Jul-2010 10:27 | harro | Updated [Date] |
| 23-Jul-2010 10:29 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source] |
| 24-Jul-2010 02:11 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:25 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 26-Nov-2017 17:58 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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