Bellanca 14-13-2 N74467

Summary

On 6 September 2003 at about 13:54 local time, a Bellanca 14-13-2 registered N74467 was involved in an accident near Moline, Illinois, United States. One person was 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

6 September 2003 at 13:54

Classification

Accident

Location

Moline, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Quad City International (MLI)

Coordinates

41.4483, -90.5075

Aircraft

Bellanca 14-13-2

Registration

N74467

Category

Airplane

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Moline → Brodhead

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI03LA306

Nobody was injured.

The partial failure of the engine driven fuel pump and fuel starvation. An additional cause was the pilot misjudging the proper glidepath and his improper in-flight decision during the precautionary landing to pull back the power and lower the flaps prior to making the runway. Additional factors included the road embankment and the pole.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane sustained substantial damage when it landed short of the runway during a precautionary landing. The pilot reported the fuel pressure was fluctuating during cruise flight so he decided to return to the departure airport. The pilot reported that during the landing approach, he was high and at 120 mph with the gear down, so he decided to pull the power back and lower the flaps. When the pilot realized that he was going to be short of the runway, he reapplied power but the engine did not respond. He reported he got low on the approach and had to maneuver to avoid buildings and transmission wires. The airplane impacted a road embankment, resulting in the main landing gear separating-off, and hit a telephone junction box before skidding to a stop. The pilot reported, "I had everything under control until I pulled the power to lower the flaps. Bad decision." The inspection of the airplane revealed that the diaphragm of the engine driven fuel pump had deteriorated and was allowing fuel to be pumped into the engine crankcase. No logbook entries were found regarding replacement or inspection of the engine driven fuel pump.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.