Commander 114 N6566D

Summary

On 1 August 2015 at about 17:19 local time, a Commander 114 registered N6566D was involved in an accident near Reading, Pennsylvania, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 August 2015 at 17:19

Classification

Accident

Location

Reading, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Reading Regional Airport (RDG)

Coordinates

40.4258, -76.0392

Aircraft

Commander 114

Registration

N6566D

Category

Airplane

Year built

2000

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Reading → Reading

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15LA294

Nobody was injured.

The improper installation of the fuel supply line fitting at the fuel manifold, which resulted in the line loosening in-flight, fuel leakage, and a subsequent total loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the airline transport pilot, about 30 minutes into the personal flight and while the airplane was at 3,000 ft mean sea level, the engine "seemed to lose power for a second." About 1 second later, the engine "shut off completely." The pilot tried to restart the engine by turning on the electric fuel boost pump and then moving the fuel selector to each of the positions without success. He then moved the fuel selector back to the "both tanks" position and set the nose pitch for best glide speed; however, the airplane was unable to glide to the airport, so the pilot set it up for an off-field landing. During the forced landing, the airplane encountered uneven terrain, and the right wing struck a tree. A postaccident engine test run was conducted, and the engine would not start. Subsequent examination of the engine revealed that a fuel supply line fitting at the fuel manifold was loose and that fuel leaked excessively from the fitting when the electric boost pump was turned on. After the fitting was tightened, the engine started without hesitation and ran continuously at idle power. Due to three bent propeller blades and vibration, a higher power setting was not attempted. A review of the airplane and engine logbooks found no entries indicating that any recent maintenance had been conducted on the fuel system.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.