Cessna TU206G N235HM

Summary

On 3 August 2015 at about 16:00 local time, a Cessna TU206G registered N235HM, operated by Dagostino Scott J, was involved in an accident near Saint Ignatius, Montana, United States. One person was 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

3 August 2015 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Saint Ignatius, Montana, United States

Coordinates

47.3000, -114.1167

Aircraft

Cessna TU206G

Registration

N235HM

Category

Airplane

Year built

1984

Engines

1

Operator

Dagostino Scott J

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bozeman → Polson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR15LA229

Nobody was injured.

Maintenance personnel’s failure to tighten a fuel line, which resulted in a loss of fuel pressure and a subsequent loss of engine power during cruise flight and an off-airport landing and collision with obstacles.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was conducting the airplane's first flight since the engine had undergone maintenance several months earlier. He reported that, after about 45 minutes of flight, he noticed that the exhaust gas temperature (EGT) had increased but that he was able to reduce the temperature by increasing the fuel flow. Shortly after, the EGT again increased, and the pilot began to troubleshoot the issue. The pilot stated that, after he turned the electric fuel boost pump on a second time, the engine ran normally for about 2 minutes and then lost power. He determined that the airplane would be unable to reach the airport, so he initiated a forced landing to a road. During the landing roll, the airplane struck vegetation and a fence. During a postaccident examination of the airplane, blue fuel stains were observed on the top of the engine. The fuel line attached to the fuel flow transducer was found finger tight and leaking. A review of the airplane's maintenance records indicated that, during the maintenance conducted several months before the accident, three cylinders, including the No. 6 cylinder, had been removed and reinstalled. The fuel line attached to the fuel flow transducer was just above the No. 6 cylinder and, therefore, it would been removed to access the cylinder during the maintenance. It is likely that maintenance personnel did not adequately tighten the fuel line during its reinstallation, which led to the loss of fuel pressure and the subsequent loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.