Cessna U206F N33243

Summary

On 15 June 2009 at about 15:45 local time, a Cessna U206F registered N33243, operated by Waters Aero Marine Inc, was involved in an accident near Islesboro, Maine, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 June 2009 at 15:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Islesboro, Maine, United States

Nearest airport

Islesboro Airport (57B)

Coordinates

44.3014, -68.9064

Aircraft

Cessna U206F

Registration

N33243

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Waters Aero Marine Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Islesboro → Rockland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09LA352

1 person had minor injuries.

A loss of engine power due to fuel contamination.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During preflight, the pilot sumped the fuel tanks and noticed water in the samples. He continued to sump the tanks until the fuel samples were absent of water. The accident flight was the fourth flight of the day and the airplane accrued 50 minutes of flight time during the 3 previous flights. On the accident flight, engine start, taxi, and takeoff were "normal" until 200 to 300 feet above the ground when "the power started slowly coming off". The pilot rejected an open field to his left for landing due to lack of altitude/glide distance, and chose to land straight ahead in heavily wooded terrain, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. After recovery of the airplane, the engine started immediately using the airplane’s battery power, and ran continuously utilizing the airplane’s own fuel system. Fuel drained from the right header tank contained water and a mass that resembled a snail (land mollusk). The mass subsequently dissolved in the sample jar, but the remains were suspended in the water at the bottom of the jar. Fuel sample test results revealed that the fuel sample contained "plasticizers," which are present in many greases, and the bottom of the sample jar contained droplets of water, and a "black particulate" matter that contained both the plasticizers and methyl cellulose, which is a material commonly used in filters.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.