Maule MXT-7-180 N9229Y

Summary

On 21 February 2013 at about 00:20 local time, a Maule MXT-7-180 registered N9229Y was involved in an accident near Parkers Parairie, Minnesota, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 February 2013 at 00:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Parkers Parairie, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

46.2383, -95.2517

Aircraft

Maule MXT-7-180

Registration

N9229Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Peoria → Ottertail

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

CEN13FA172

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to transfer fuel from the auxiliary fuel tanks to the main fuel tanks in a timely manner, which resulted in fuel starvation to the engine.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was returning home from a cross-country business trip when the accident occurred. A witness reported hearing a "loud pop" that sounded like an "engine backfiring" followed by the sound of impact. Another witness reported seeing the airplane flying low and hearing the engine sputter just before the airplane impacted terrain. The airplane impacted a snow-covered field and traveled about 300 ft before it came to rest. First responders reported smelling fuel near the main wreckage. A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any mechanical anomalies that would have resulted in the accident. The airplane's fuel tanks were filled before departure. Each main fuel tank held 20 gallons of usable fuel, and each auxiliary fuel tank held 15 gallons of fuel. The main fuel tanks supplied fuel to the engine. The fuel selector was found in the "both" position. The auxiliary fuel tanks replenished the main fuel tanks via transfer pumps that were turned on by switches in the cockpit when needed; the fuel transfer pump switches were not located in the wreckage. The airplane's estimated fuel consumption rate was about 9 gallons per hour. According to the tachometer, the flight was 4.1 hours long, which would have used about 37 gallons of fuel plus additional fuel for taxi and climb. Thus, it is likely that the pilot did not transfer fuel from the auxiliary fuel tanks to the main fuel tanks in a timely manner, which resulted in the engine being starved of available fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.