Grumman G-44 N700BL

Summary

On 16 May 2002 at about 23:27 local time, a Grumman G-44 registered N700BL, operated by Patrick J. Coyle, was involved in an accident near Boise, Idaho, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 May 2002 at 23:27

Classification

Accident

Location

Boise, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Boise Air Terminal (BOI)

Coordinates

43.5603, -116.2269

Aircraft

Grumman G-44

Registration

N700BL

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Patrick J. Coyle

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Boise → Kemmerer

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA02FA083

2 people were seriously injured.

A blocked fuel line that resulted in fuel starvation to the engine and the pilot's failure to follow emergency procedures. A contamination of metal flakes on the fuel filter, and an inadequate annual inspection were factors.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that shortly after takeoff, the right engine lost power. The pilot stated that he did not feather or secure the engine but concentrated on trying to maintain the single-engine airspeed while attempting to return to the airport. The aircraft was unable to maintain altitude and collided with trees, power lines, and a single-story residence, coming to rest on the roof. During the post-accident inspection of the right engine, the gascolator filter was found covered with metal flakes. A mass amount of the flakes were accumulated at the top end of the filter and blocking the fuel line. Visually and under magnification, the metal flakes varied in size and shape of which many were corkscrew in appearance. The fuel lines downstream of the filter contained a trace amount of fuel. The right side fuel tank was drained. The sump contained debris to include additional metal flakes, screws, washers and pink colored sealant material. The aircraft had just been signed off for the annual inspection. Several maintenance discrepancy items had been found and fixed prior to and after the sign-off. The pilot also reported that during the cross country flight, the right engine had a tendency to stall out below 1,000 rpm. The aircraft flight manual for the accident aircraft indicated in the Emergency Procedures section that if an engine failure occurs after the airplane is airborne, and single engine climb speed is attained, the inoperative engine should be feathered and secured. The single engine rate of climb chart indicated that for the given conditions at the time of the accident, the aircraft should have been able to maintain a positive rate of climb.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.