Cessna TU206G N27GP

Summary

On 12 March 2025 at about 18:50 local time, a Cessna TU206G registered N27GP, operated by GPI Geospatial Inc, was involved in an accident near Wedgefield, 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

12 March 2025 at 18:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Wedgefield, Florida, United States

Coordinates

28.5013, -81.1130

Aircraft

Cessna TU206G

Registration

N27GP

Category

Airplane

Year built

1977

Engines

1

Operator

GPI Geospatial Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Orlando → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA25LA142

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power as a result of an excessively rich fuel-to-air ratio due to the pilot’s failure to properly lean the engine’s fuel air mixture and the inadvertent activation of the auxiliary fuel pump.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was flying to the surveying location about 1,800 ft mean sea level (msl) for about 10 minutes after departing when the engine “just stopped.” He stated that there were no indications of an engine problem until it suddenly lost total power. He switched the fuel tanks and verified the magneto switch position, but the engine did not regain power. He attempted a forced landing in a field but, as the airplane touched down, the left wing contacted trees and stopped the airplane abruptly. The left wing was substantially damaged, and fuel began to leak into the cabin. The pilot and pilot-rated passenger exited through the aft door and called the departure airport’s air traffic control tower for assistance. Postaccident examination and an engine test run revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Data recovered from the engine data monitoring device installed in the airplane showed that the engine consumed about 10 gallons per hour (gph) more fuel than indicated by the calculations in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH) when the airplane was at a cruise altitude of 1,700 ft mean sea level (msl). The fuel flow increased above that previously established level just before the engine stopped producing power. With the data showing a high fuel flow spike just before the loss of engine power, and the pilot indicating that the mixture lever had been set to the full rich position since takeoff, the spike was likely the result of the higher-than-recommended mixture setting and inadvertent activation of the airplane’s auxiliary fuel pump, which enrichened the fuel-to-air mixture past the point of the engine’s combustion capability. This condition was the subject of a note in the airplane’s POH.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.