Boeing Stearman A75N1 N64567

Summary

On 17 July 2002 at about 13:40 local time, a Boeing Stearman A75N1 registered N64567 was involved in an accident near Bardstown, Kentucky, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 July 2002 at 13:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Bardstown, Kentucky, United States

Nearest airport

Samuels Field Airport (BRY)

Coordinates

37.8142, -85.4997

Aircraft

Boeing Stearman A75N1

Registration

N64567

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bardstown → Chattanooga

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC02LA140

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection, which resulted in fuel contamination and subsequent loss of engine power. A factor in this accident was that the wing tank fuel drains were wire closed and could not be used.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported he performed a thorough preflight inspection of the airplane and after a 1 hour flight, he landed to refuel. He added 30.5 gallons of aviation gasoline to the airplane and performed another preflight inspection, which included draining fuel from the "belly strainer." The pilot performed an engine run-up and a normal takeoff; however, shortly after takeoff, when the airplane was about 300 to 400 feet above the ground, the engine began to lose power. The pilot performed a forced landing to a field. However, the airplane impacted the ground left wing down and bounced. The engine separated from the fuselage and the airplane came to rest on the main landing gear. Examination of the engine revealed debris in the oil screen, which consisted of large carbon and rust deposits. The spark plugs all showed signs of fouling due to carbon deposits and three of the outboard spark plug electrode gaps were "closed" due to debris lodged in the head of the plugs. There was a small amount of fuel in the carburetor. The fuel was "milky white" in color. The belly drain was sumped, and the fuel was found to contain "large" amounts of water. It was also noted that the wing tank drains were wired closed and could not be sampled.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.