Cessna T210H N2240R

Summary

On 23 October 2004 at about 17:05 local time, a Cessna T210H registered N2240R was involved in an accident near Missoula, Montana, 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

23 October 2004 at 17:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Missoula, Montana, United States

Coordinates

46.9008, -114.0647

Aircraft

Cessna T210H

Registration

N2240R

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Philipsburg → Missoula

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA05LA011

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to follow published procedures/directives (inducing excessive fuel flow to the engine), and the subsequent loss of engine power for nonmechanical reasons while on final approach. Contributing factors were the utility pole and the ditch.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said that he was on final, and he had been cleared to land. He said that he put the low auxiliary fuel pump on, to move the fuel selector to the fullest tank, and then he turned it off. He then noticed that he was below the glide path, and he advanced the throttle for more power. The power did not increase. He attempted an engine restart to no avail. The pilot said that he was "very close to the ground," so he abandoned the restart attempt and performed a forced landing. During the landing roll, the airplane traversed a drainage ditch and struck a transmission pole with its left wing. The nose wheel landing gear and right main landing gear were separated from the aircraft. The outer three feet of the left wing was crushed aft and the entire left wing was bent aft at the wing root. The fuselage was wrinkled and twisted. The owner of the airplane stated that the airplane had been topped-off with fuel approximately 1.0 hour, of engine operation, before the accident. On October 29, 2004, under the auspices of a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector, the engine was test run; it started and ran "without a problem." The airplane manufacturer's Pilot's Operating Handbook does not recommend turning on the auxiliary fuel pump for normal fuel selector tank changes. The airplane manufacturer's Pilot Safety and Warning Supplements manual states: "The auxiliary fuel pump should not be operated during takeoff and landing, since gravity and the engine driven fuel pump will supply adequate fuel flow to the fuel injector unit." And, "Each time the auxiliary fuel pump switch is turned on or off, the mixture should be readjusted."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.