Shortly after takeoff from the airport in West Kingston, Rhode Island, the pilot noted a decrease in engine performance during initial climb out. He also noticed the Ercoupe F-1 was unable to climb or maintain altitude.
After unsuccessfully attempting to troubleshoot the issue, he performed a forced landing in a field covered in solar panels. During the landing the airplane struck several of the solar panels, resulting in substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot sustained minor injuries in the crash.
Post-accident examination of the engine and fuel system revealed the presence of water and other contaminates in the gascolator, carburetor bowl, carburetor inlet screen, and engine-driven fuel pump.
The examination did not discover evidence of any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
The pilot told investigators that while he performed his preflight inspection, which included sampling fuel from the airplane’s header fuel tank, he historically always had difficulty with water in the fuel, specifically from the header tank and gascolator.
Given this information it is likely that the partial loss of engine power during the climb was due to contamination of the engine’s fuel supply with water and debris.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to conduct a proper preflight inspection and ensure the fuel was uncontaminated, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power and forced landing.
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This September 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.
The pilot did his preflight inspection and says he was aware of the problem; meaning he most likely checked for water during preflight as he claims. The fas blaming it on the pilot is indicative of the faa being lazy. There is clearly an airplane design issue that should be investgated. To save you time I will tell you what it is. The ercoupe drains on the wing tanks are about an inch and a half from the bottom meaning it would take at least a pint of water before its noticed. Also thr header tank is similar. These tanks should have a recess so water can be detected. Reason for crash: FAA too quick to blame the pilot and not properly addressing all the other ercoupes that have crashed for the same reason of a faulty design.
The pilot was aware that water in fuel was a recurring problem. HOWEVER the accident investigation noted … QUOTE…
“Post-accident examination of the engine and fuel system revealed the presence of water and other contaminates in the gascolator, carburetor bowl, carburetor inlet screen, and engine-driven fuel pump. …”.
It seems there was no ‘common low point’ in the fuel-line for sampling/drain… and obviously there was no fuel filter… flushing water and ‘other contaminates’ from fuel lines was not possible… only at the LH & RH wing and the header tank[?].
What is disturbing to me was the: notable mention of “… and other contaminates…” which were never specifically discussed/explained. There should have been investigation as-to the water/contaminates levels in EACH of the [3] tanks; and there should have been an investigation as to what the ‘other contaminates’ actually were, IE: metal flakes, corrosion, sand, plastic chips, bio-matter [gunk], etc.
I have typically flushed contaminated fuel and hydraulic-oil thru a ‘white-paper coffee filter’… then looked at the residue/debris under ~30X magnification. The ‘big-stuff’ jumps out at you… the rest of the small stuff can be taken-to a fuels/oils laboratory for further investigation.
ALSO…
IF the pilot was ‘used-to finding water’… but never finding [noticing?] ‘other contaminates’… then something happened recently to introduce the ‘other contaminates’ that were identified by the investigation. This contamination could have been introduced during a recent refueling operation. IF this is the case… then then contaminated fuel-source could have-been a threat other aircraft!
I am an aero-engineer for a USAF air refueling tanker. I am painfully aware of fuel contamination… since these AR jets can easily pass contaminated fuel to other jets leading to a world of trouble. During the Viet Nam war, one load of contaminated JP-4 was introduced into the fuel distribution supply for the SVN from a tanker-ship… resulting in the loss if several UH-1Hs and several USAF fixed-wing tactical aircraft. The incident was classified as ‘Top-Secret’ and was covered-over by a ‘war-stand-down for maintenance and peace talk negotiations’… at least until the VN fuel distribution piping system was fully cleaned/purged with ‘fresh-clean jet fuel’. Damm.
Lucky you. “Historically had problem” should mean that goes to the top of the pre-flight list!