De Havilland DHC-6-300 N824ED

Summary

On 11 January 2001 at about 22:14 local time, a De Havilland DHC-6-300 registered N824ED, operated by Earth Data Aviation, was involved in an accident near Fort Worth, Texas, United States. 3 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

11 January 2001 at 22:14

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Worth, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Fort Worth Meacham (FTW)

Coordinates

32.7994, -97.1906

Aircraft

De Havilland DHC-6-300

Registration

N824ED

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Earth Data Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Alexandria → Fort Worth

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW01LA049

Nobody was injured.

the loss of power to both engines for undetermined reasons during approach. Contributing factors were the pilot's failure to properly position the fuel selector in accordance with the landing checklist and the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight was cleared for an ILS approach and as the airplane was approaching the point of glideslope intercept, both engines lost power. The airplane was vectored toward a nearby airport; however, after exiting the clouds, the pilot realized that the flight could not make the airport. The pilot initiated a forced landing to a field, and during the landing roll, the airplane crossed a road, and the right wing struck a tree. Subsequently, the nose landing gear separated when it struck a dirt berm. The airplane came to a stop upright. Examination of the fuel system revealed the aft main tank was 1/3-1/2 full of fuel, and the forward main tank 90% full of fuel. Examination of the cockpit revealed that the fuel selector for the main tanks was found in the NORMAL position. With the selector in the NORMAL position, the aft main tank supplies fuel to the left engine, and the forward main tank supplies fuel to the right engine. Examination of the fuel system revealed no discrepancies. The fuel boost pumps were activated and fuel flowed from the fuel supply lines. The left and right airframe fuel filters and the left and right engine fuel filters contained fuel. Examination of both engines revealed no anomalies that would have precluded the operation of the engines. The pilot reported that at the time of the dual engine failure, the fuel selector was selecting the aft tank, thereby feeding both engines from the aft fuel tank. He further reported that when both engines failed, he immediately switched the fuel selector to "NORMAL". The aircraft's flight manual directs the pilot to position the fuel selector to "NORMAL" prior to takeoff and for landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.