Rockwell 500-S N903AK

Summary

On 19 March 2003 at about 14:15 local time, a Rockwell 500-S registered N903AK, operated by State of Alaska Division of Forestry, was involved in an accident near Chickaloon, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 March 2003 at 14:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Chickaloon, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

61.7850, -148.3883

Aircraft

Rockwell 500-S

Registration

N903AK

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

State of Alaska Division of Forestry

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Palmer → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC03LA032

Nobody was injured.

The improper installation of an engine fuel line fitting by contracted maintenance personnel resulting in an in-flight engine fire. Contributing factors in the accident were an inadequate annual inspection by company maintenance personnel, and the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Both engines of the twin-engine airplane were removed for overhaul and reinstalled by contracted maintenance personnel. The engines were then ground-run to assess their performance, and to check for any leaks. No leaks were found. An annual inspection was subseqently completed by the operator's maintenance personnel, and the airplane was released for a maintenance test flight. The preflight, engine runup, and the takeoff engine power settings were normal. Another pilot observed the takeoff of the accident airplane, and noticed what appeared to be a slight vapor trail coming from the left engine. He did not report his observations to the pilot. The accident flight was intended to check the turbocharging system by climbing to 12,000 feet. At 8,000 feet, the electrical system experienced a spike, but then returned to normal. As the airplane approached 11,000 feet, the left engine's fuel pressure began to fluctuate. The manifold pressure and rpm began to decrease. The pilot feathered the propeller, and shut-off the engine's fuel/hydraulic valve. The passenger then noticed flames coming from the left engine. The pilot began an emergency descent, and landed on a gravel bar. During the landing roll, the airplane received extensive damage to the fuselage and landing gear. The pilot and passenger exited the airplane and extinguished the flames from the left engine with a hand-held fire extinquisher. A trail of oil was visible on the ground along the airplane's approach path to the accident scene. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed extensive fire damage, sooting, and oil streaking coming from the left engine nacelle. Inspection of the left engine revealed that the fuel line, from the left wing tank to the engine driven fuel pump, was not connected. The interior threads of the fuel line fitting, and the exterior threads of the fuel pump nipple had extensive sooting.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.