Pilot seriously injured when plane crashes due to water and contaminates in the fuel

A family member told investigators the pilot was going to fly the Cessna T210 to Live Oak County Airport (8T6) in George West, Texas. Witnesses observed the airplane takeoff from Mid-Way Regional Airport (KJWY) in Waxahachie, Texas, and reported the engine did not sound like it was making takeoff power.

The airplane reached 50 to 100 feet above ground level (AGL), started a right turn, and then made a hard left downwind turn. The airplane then descended in a nose down attitude and hit terrain. The plane cartwheeled two times before it come to rest upright.

The left wing was fractured mid-span and the engine was separated from the fuselage. The pilot was seriously injured in the crash.

The pilot told investigators he did not think he could safely land off the departure end of the runway when the engine lost power because of a creek and trees in the area.

Witnesses said the pilot could have landed on the runway or the ½ mile of open space past the end of the runway, and there was a strong tailwind when the pilot turned downwind.

One witness reported the airplane had flown very little in the three years before the accident and it had been stored outside at KJWY during that time.

The mechanic who performed the last two annual inspections on the airplane was also a witness to the accident. He said that during the 2019 annual inspection he completely drained the fuel tanks and ran the engine for about 45 minutes without any problems noted. He anticipated the pilot was going to pick up the airplane following the inspection, but the pilot did not for an unknown reason.

The pilot told investigators that after he had the annual inspection completed in September 2019, he decided to leave the airplane at KJWY and have it repainted.

When the pilot arrived the day of the accident the mechanic helped the pilot sump several cups of water from the fuel tanks before the airplane was refueled. He advised the pilot to sump all the tanks again and to taxi the airplane for a while and do a good run-up before flying it. He said the pilot told him he did not have time for that and needed to get going.

The pilot had the airplane fueled prior to departing. The lineman who refueled the airplane stated the pilot was sumping the fuel tanks while he was present, and the pilot told him to fuel the left tank first because “he was getting a lot of stuff” out of the right tank.

The lineman did not observe any rust or debris around the left fuel cap. He did note rust around the right fuel tank filler, rust on the right fuel cap, and rust stains on the fuel cap gasket. He topped off both the left and right tanks (total capacity 90 gallons) with 41.2 gallons of fuel.

The pilot said it had rained a couple days prior to the accident and he drained a lot of water from the fuel tanks before the flight. He said he let the airplane sit for a while and came back and sumped the tanks again until only fuel came out. He said he planned to fly around the pattern a few times to make sure everything was working correctly.

Following the accident, an FAA inspector drained two sump cups full of contaminants and water from the left header fuel tank and 12 sump samples of water from the right header fuel tank before fuel was sumped from the tank.

During an examination of the engine, liquid consistent with avgas was found in the fuel injector lines to cylinders 2, 3, and 6. The injector lines to cylinders 1, 4, and 5 contained water.

The inlet line to the fuel divider was removed and water and “a thick grey paste” came out of the fuel inlet.

Upon disassembly of the fuel flow divider the diaphragm and spring were intact. A fine sand-like material was located on top of the diaphragm. The steel ring in the center of the fuel screen was completely covered in rust. The inlet side of the fuel screen also contained the sand-like material. Upon removal of the diaphragm and spring there was a large amount of foreign material in the fuel divider. There was no odor or indication of avgas in the fuel divider.

Probable Cause: The partial loss of engine power due to water and contaminants in the fuel, due to the pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection, and the pilot’s decision to conduct a steep turn at low altitude to return to the runway rather than land straight ahead, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

NTSB Identification: 101119

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This March 2020 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.