According to the pilot, who was the owner of the Cessna 152, the plane had been parked for an extended period. He was preparing it for an annual inspection, which was nearly four years overdue.
On the day before the accident, he charged the airplane’s battery and ran the engine for about 30 minutes.
Before departing on the accident flight, he performed a preflight inspection, measured the level of fuel in each tank, sampled the fuel tanks and fuel strainer for contaminants, and ran the engine for about five to seven minutes with no anomalies noted.
He taxied the airplane for takeoff, performed the before-takeoff checks, and departed the airport in Winder, Georgia.
When the plane reached about 200′ above ground level, the engine “sputtered” and then stopped producing power.
He performed a forced landing to a field beyond the departure end of the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings.
The left-wing fuel tank was breached by impact and contained no fuel. The right tank was intact and contained about eight gallons of fuel. The gascolator was drained, and the first four ounces were clear water. The remaining four ounces were a mixture of water and fuel.
The carburetor was separated from the engine at impact and was reattached with an adhesive to facilitate an engine operational check. An external fuel tank was then plumbed to the carburetor, and the engine was started on the airframe using the airplane’s own battery. The engine started immediately, accelerated smoothly, and ran continuously without interruption.
Had the pilot conducted an adequate preflight inspection, he would have likely detected the water contamination in the fuel system.
Probable cause: The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection, which resulted in undetected water in the fuel system and a total loss of engine power during the initial climb.
NTSB Identification: ERA17LA336
This September 2017 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.
Who writes these headlines? And who proofreads?? “Fuel in Water System??”
Come on!
Not the first time headlines are screwy.
Ken: Thanks for pointing that out. It’s fixed now.
After reading the article, I think the title was appropriate for that pilot.
He sampled the contents of the fuel strainer? Or did he just pull up the drain handle and “pee” some contents out? Who knows?
He ran the engine for 30 minutes, and had no water issues, and ran it again for 7 minutes before take-off? Odd that nothing was detected then.
Was the aircraft parked nose low when he sumped the tanks? May account for what water was not drained.
The aircraft was out of annual by four years, but he flew it anyway? On what authority…..a ferry permit?
This was an accident that didn’t have to occur.
As a ferry pilot (some decades ago…) I realized that the only airplane more tenuous than a raggedy old bird headed for overhaul was a brand new airplane. I hauled a few Ag Cats from Elmira, NY to such places as Paramaribo, Surinam. It was a great time but on more than one occasion I drained QUARTS of water much of which had the appearance of fuel and even carried some of the fuel smell. A casual preflight and I would gave joined the gliders. If in doubt rub it between your fingers and maybe spit in the sample (or add a bit of water, coffee.. whatever is handy). The first time your “water” simply disperses in your “fuel” sample you’ll get it…. feel free to try this at home… Shake a bit of gas in a larger quantity of water the. Smell, feel the water. One more tool in your bag of (butt saving) tricks. OH… and you can’t do this with rubber gloves on… a version of this experiment is also how you test for alcohol (ethynol,methanol) in your auto gas sample. See the instructions that are available on line from Peterson Avn or the EAA.
The title may be appropriate and pilots need to understand that even a few ounces of water can stop an engine.
When I rented aircraft that were parked on the ramp, I’d go to a wing tip and rock the aircraft to get any water to move to the quick drain areas…. which were 5 in each wing on a C172R. I’d do this as many times as needed to see no water when sumping the tanks., then sump the gascolator.
Fuel in water system?
It’s a trick FAA written test question. Everyone flunked it.