Cessna 140 N72901

Summary

On 16 October 2005 at about 21:15 local time, a Cessna 140 registered N72901 was involved in an accident near Big Flat, Arkansas, 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 October 2005 at 21:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Big Flat, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

36.0004, -92.4028

Aircraft

Cessna 140

Registration

N72901

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lakeview → Conway

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW06LA007

2 people were seriously injured.

The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A contributing factor was 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

The 345-hour private pilot completed a detailed preflight inspection and determined he had 26 gallons of fuel on-board for a cross-country flight. He then departed his home airfield, to pick up a passenger at another airfield approximately 17 nautical miles away The pilot then departed for another airfield located about 76 nautical miles away; no problems were noted during these flights. However, ten minutes after departing his last airfield, the engine experienced a loss of RPM. The pilot ran the emergency checklist and searched for a place to land as the airplane was unable to maintain altitude. The airplane had experienced several loss of engine power events before, but each time the pilot was able to make a safe landing. The first time was shortly after being sold to a new buyer; an inspection of the airplane's fuel tanks, revealed contamination in the form of "beads" in the fuel tank. Shortly after having the tanks flushed, the second loss of power event happened, (after each event, and after the airplane had landed the engine would produce power again). The carburetor was examined and the airplane returned to service. Approximately 15-30 hours later, another loss of power event happened. This time the carburetor was sent to a repair facility, which rebuilt the carburetor and told the owner that a "wrong jet" had been installed in the carburetor. The airplane then flew another 50-60 hours without a re-occurrence. The airplane's original fuel caps were replaced, sometime prior to the accident. The fuel caps installed on the airplane were an aftermarket design, with the label "2646V" inked on the top of the caps. The vent holes in these caps were less than half the size of the original fuel caps. Additionally, it was possible for the gasket (in the fuel cap) to cover one or both of the vent holes. A review of the airplane's records failed to reveal when the original fuel caps were replaced. The reason for the reported loss of engine power could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.