ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 141634
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Thursday 5 January 2012 |
| Time: | 10:30 |
| Type: |  Pitts SPS-1 Special |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N330BL |
| MSN: | 1 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 1053 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Highway 14, Lamberton Township, near Revere, MN -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Madison, SD (MDS) |
| Faribault, MN (FBL) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The airplane had not been flown for over 6 months prior to the accident flight. Before departure, the pilot added about 3 gallons of fuel to the existing fuel on board the airplane. The pilot did not find contamination when he drained fuel from the main fuel tank sump drain. About 20 minutes after departure, during cruise flight, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power that led the pilot to conduct a forced landing on a road. The airplane nosed over during the landing. An examination of the airplane revealed that the airplane was not equipped, nor was it required to be equipped, with a fuel sump drain(s) for the wing tank, which drained into the main fuel tank. Water contamination was present in the fuel line leading to the carburetor, but no water contamination was noted when the main fuel tank sump—the only available sump—was drained. Accordingly, water was likely in the wing tanks and fed into the main tank after it was sumped. The water then entered the fuel lines. The lack of sump drains in the wing tanks is an inadequate design because it does not allow a pilot to remove all water from the fuel system.
Probable Cause: The total loss of engine power during cruise flight due to fuel contamination and the inadequate design of the fuel system.
Sources:
NTSB
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Jan-2012 09:08 | gerard57 | Added |
| 06-Jan-2012 09:59 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 09-Jan-2012 11:25 | Geno | Updated [Source] |
| 24-Jan-2012 05:49 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 24-Jan-2012 16:44 | Geno | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:26 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 27-Nov-2017 17:53 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2023 Flight Safety Foundation