Cessna 210A N6630X

Summary

On 21 May 2010 at about 17:30 local time, a Cessna 210A registered N6630X, operated by Waylon D. Crump, was involved in an accident near Benson, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 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

21 May 2010 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Benson, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Benson Municipal Airport (E95)

Coordinates

31.9994, -110.3578

Aircraft

Cessna 210A

Registration

N6630X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Waylon D. Crump

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Benson → Benson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10LA251

2 people had minor injuries.

A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of a loss of fuel pressure caused by the fuel pump screws being loose. Contributing to the accident was inadequate maintenance.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that when he initiated a turn to final approach for landing, the engine suddenly lost power. He checked the cockpit gauges and the fuel selector, before attempting an unsuccessful engine restart. Unable to reach the runway, the pilot initiated a forced landing onto a ridge. During the landing, the left main landing gear and nose landing gear separated and the airplane slid to a stop on its nose. During the postaccident examination of the engine, the fuel system was tested and the fuel manifold diaphragm was found to be brittle and stiff. The engine driven fuel pump was fuel stained and when further inspected, the four screws that hold the body of the fuel pump together were found loose. When the pump was submerged in fuel and manually rotated, it emitted fuel along with large air bubbles. The four screws were then tightened and the pump was again submerged in fuel. The fuel flowed normally without any air bubbles present. It is likely that the fuel manifold valve would require more fuel pressure than normal for it to function properly because of the fuel diaphragm’s brittleness and stiffness. It is also likely that the four loose screws on the fuel pump body allowed air to mix in with the fuel causing the pump to cavitate. Therefore, the fuel pressure dropped to a level that would cause the fuel manifold valve to close, subsequently starving the engine of fuel. An annual inspection was reported to have been completed 11.1 hours prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.