Belcher Gerald C BEL AIRE 2000 N122BA

Summary

On 20 May 2012 at about 18:58 local time, a Belcher Gerald C BEL AIRE 2000 registered N122BA was involved in an accident near Tyre, New York, 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

20 May 2012 at 18:58

Classification

Accident

Location

Tyre, New York, United States

Coordinates

42.9903, -76.8019

Aircraft

Belcher Gerald C BEL AIRE 2000

Registration

N122BA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Clyde → Seneca Falls

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12LA349

1 person had minor injuries.

A partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined during the postaccident investigation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the preflight inspection of the experimental amateur-built airplane, which had not been flown for nearly 1 year, the pilot drained the existing automotive fuel from the tank and replaced it with fresh fuel. After noting no anomalies during a ground run of the automotive-type engine, the pilot departed and circled above the departure field for several minutes to confirm that the engine would continue to perform normally before he departed the area. Several minutes later, the engine began to "hesitate," and, in response, the pilot "pumped" the throttle, which seemed to keep the engine partially running but with insufficient power to keep the airplane airborne. The pilot subsequently performed a forced landing to a farm field, during which the airplane incurred substantial damage to both lower wings. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical failures of the engine; however, a sample of fuel taken from the airplane’s fuel tank contained an unidentified particulate contaminant; however, it could not be determined whether this affected the engine performance. No other anomalies of the fuel system were noted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.