Cessna T210 N5382A

Summary

On 13 March 2018 at about 17:30 local time, a Cessna T210 registered N5382A was involved in an accident near Orlando, Florida, 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

13 March 2018 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Orlando, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Kissimmee Gateway (ISM)

Coordinates

28.2897, -81.4369

Aircraft

Cessna T210

Registration

N5382A

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Orlando → Orlando

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18LA103

Nobody was injured.

The improper adjustment of the fuel pump by maintenance personnel, which resulted in an overly rich fuel/air mixture and a total loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

On the morning of the accident, the pilot performed a 2-hour test flight with newly-installed camera equipment, during which the airplane performed normally. While taking off on the second flight of the day, the pilot felt that there was something wrong with the engine. There were no abnormal indications and the engine continued to produce power until the pilot leveled the airplane at cruise altitude; the engine then lost total power and the pilot subsequently conducted a forced landing onto a road, resulting in substantial damage to the wings. A test run of the engine revealed that the fuel pump was adjusted to an excessively rich fuel flow setting, which resulted in a loss of power when the throttle was increased past about 2,100 rpm. The fuel pump was readjusted and the engine performed nominally. When the fuel pump was reset to the as-received setting, the engine exhibited the same loss of power as during the first run. Bench testing of the throttle body and fuel pump revealed that both units failed to meet production standards. Review of the airplane's maintenance records indicated that a fuel system adjustment was performed almost 2 years before the accident. It is likely that the improper fuel pump setting resulted in an overly rich fuel/air mixture and the subsequent loss of engine power; however, the reason for the loss of engine power during the accident flight, and not during previous flights since the fuel pump was adjusted, could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.