Cessna 404 N26SA

Summary

On 15 April 2000 at about 11:43 local time, a Cessna 404 registered N26SA was involved in an accident near Lansing, Michigan, 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

15 April 2000 at 11:43

Classification

Accident

Location

Lansing, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Capital City Airport (LAN)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 404

Registration

N26SA

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Caro

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI00LA114

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to improper fuel. Also causal was the improper aircraft service by the fixed base operator personnel and the unsuitable terrain for the forced landing encountered by the pilot. Factors were the improper grade of fuel and the lack of suitable terrain for the landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was departing from Lansing, Michigan, when he reported engine problems. The aircraft subsequently lost power to both engines. Fuel receipts were found that indicate that the aircraft was serviced with 25 gallons of jet fuel in each wing tank. No preexisting anomalies were found with regard to the aircraft or its systems. An FAA inspector interviewed the person that had fueled the aircraft and that person stated he had used a JET-A fuel truck to fuel the accident aircraft. The inspector also interviewed the safety director of the company that provided the fueling service. The safety director told the inspector that the fuel truck used to fuel the accident aircraft was found to have a small nozzle installed on one of the hoses and not the wide nozzle used on jet fueling trucks. He also said that, '...the small nozzle was used for the purpose of fueling tugs at the airport and that the small nozzles were immediately removed from all jet refueling trucks so that this could not happen again.'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.