Beechcraft 65 N62069

Summary

On 9 July 2019 at about 14:13 local time, a Beechcraft 65 registered N62069, operated by Bemidji Aviation, was involved in an accident near Sidney, Nebraska, 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

9 July 2019 at 14:13

Classification

Accident

Location

Sidney, Nebraska, United States

Nearest airport

Sidney Municipal (KSNY)

Coordinates

41.1014, -102.9853

Aircraft

Beechcraft 65

Registration

N62069

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Bemidji Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sidney → Denver

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19LA215

Nobody was injured.

The improper maintenance of the outboard left wing, which allowed electrical arcing and leaking of the fuel sending unit and subsequently resulted in ignition of fuel vapors and an explosion of the outboard left wing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had topped off the outboard fuel tanks before departure. While taxiing for takeoff, the stall warning horn activated, and the pilot pulled the circuit breaker to disable the horn. During the takeoff roll, the pilot heard a loud bang, observed significant damage to the outboard left wing, and aborted the takeoff. While taxiing back to the ramp, the pilot noted smoke coming from the top of the left wing. The pilot taxied the airplane to the corner of the ramp, performed an abbreviated shutdown, grabbed a fire extinguisher, and evacuated. The pilot did not observe any additional smoke or fire and did not discharge the fire extinguisher. Examination of the airplane revealed fire and thermal damage near the wing root area, including melted and burned wiring. Due to some loose installation screws, a fuel leak was found coming from the fuel sending unit, which had recently been replaced. In addition, a wiring harness was found pinched between a metal clamp and a wing rib. Metal-to-metal contact was noted between exposed wiring and the wing rib. Based on the fuel leak in the left wing and the pinched wiring, it is likely fuel vapors ignited and caused an explosion of the outboard left wing. A few months before the accident, the outboard left wing was replaced. The operator's director of maintenance stated that the electrical wiring in the wing was not inspected during the wing replacement.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.