Smith AEROSTAR601 N327BK

Summary

On 20 July 2018 at about 19:30 local time, a Smith AEROSTAR601 registered N327BK was involved in an accident near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 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

20 July 2018 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States

Nearest airport

Baton Rouge Metropolitan, Ryan (BTR)

Coordinates

30.5456, -91.1647

Aircraft

Smith AEROSTAR601

Registration

N327BK

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Baton Rouge → Baton Rouge

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA285

Nobody was injured.

The loss of right engine power due to fuel starvation, which resulted from corrosion debris in the fuel lines. Contributing to the accident was the mechanic’s and pilot’s inadequate maintenance of the airplane before the flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The mechanic who maintained the airplane reported that, on the morning of the accident, the right engine would not start due to water contamination in the fuel system. The commercial pilot and mechanic purged the fuel tanks, flushed the fuel system, and cleaned the left engine fuel injector nozzles. After the maintenance work, they completed engine ground runs for each engine with no anomalies noted. Subsequently, the pilot ordered new fuel from the local fixed-based operator to complete a maintenance test flight. The pilot stated that he completed a preflight inspection, followed by engine run-ups for each engine with no anomalies noted and then departed with one passenger onboard. Immediately after takeoff, the right engine stopped producing full power, and the airplane would not maintain altitude. No remaining runway was left to land, so the pilot conducted a forced landing to a field about 1 mile from the runway; the airplane landed hard and came to rest upright. Postaccident examination revealed no water contamination in the engines. Examination of the airplane revealed numerous instances of improper and inadequate maintenance of the engines and fuel system. The fuel system contained corrosion debris, and minimal fuel was found in the lines to the fuel servo. Although maintenance was conducted on the airplane on the morning of the accident, the right engine fuel injectors nozzles were not removed during the maintenance procedures; therefore, it is likely that the fuel flow volume was not measured. It is likely that the corrosion debris in the fuel system resulted when the water was recently purged from the fuel system. The contaminants were likely knocked loose during the subsequent engine runs and attempted takeoff, which subsequently blocked the fuel lines and starved the right engine of available fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.