Bellanca 8KCAB N68555

Summary

On 22 May 2020 at about 00:12 local time, a Bellanca 8KCAB registered N68555 was involved in an accident near Rainbow City, Alabama, 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

22 May 2020 at 00:12

Classification

Accident

Location

Rainbow City, Alabama, United States

Coordinates

33.8822, -86.0728

Aircraft

Bellanca 8KCAB

Registration

N68555

Category

Airplane

Year built

1972

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gadsden → Gadsden

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20LA194

Nobody was injured.

The partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, during the flight back to the departure airport after practicing aerobatic maneuvers, the engine started to "cut off and on." The pilot decided to make an emergency landing in a field. The airplane impacted trees, and the landing gear and both wings were buckled. The wreckage examination found that both fuel tanks were breached and absent of fuel. The airplane was recovered from the accident site, and an engine test run was conducted. Prior to the test run, all fuel lines leading to the fuel pumps and fuel servo were examined. The mechanical and electrical fuel pumps were checked, and no anomalies were noted. An external fuel tank was plumbed to the mechanical pump for the test run. The fuel-injected engine was started and run for 2 to 3 minutes at various rpms, and no anomalies were noted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.