Bellanca BL-17-30A N8851V

Summary

On 17 August 2002 at about 15:05 local time, a Bellanca BL-17-30A registered N8851V was involved in an accident near Ohiawa, Nebraska, 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

17 August 2002 at 15:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Ohiawa, Nebraska, United States

Coordinates

40.3011, -96.8039

Aircraft

Bellanca BL-17-30A

Registration

N8851V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bietrice → Hastings

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI02CA253

Nobody was injured.

The pilot failed to verify the aircraft refueling and he did not follow emergency procedures for engine restart. Factors to the accident included fuel starvation and the fence post.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane sustained substantial damage when it hit a post during a forced landing to a field after a loss of engine power. The pilot reported that when he refueled the airplane prior to the accident flight, he had requested that the lineman top off the fuel tanks. He did not visually check the left fuel tank, but he had checked the right fuel tank. He reported the fuel selector was positioned on the left fuel tank during the flight. He reported the engine suddenly quit. He could not get the engine restarted and he did a forced landing to a cornfield. An inspection of the fuel tanks revealed the left fuel tank was dry and the right fuel tank was full. The pilot reported, "I came to recall that my normal starting procedure is to have the boost pump on. The engine does not start without it. Also after normal shut-off by pulling the mixture to the full lean position, the engine will not start in < 15 seconds even after priming to normal boost pump pressures and the boost pump on while cranking...This entire evolution lasted an estimated 60-90 seconds. This may not have allowed sufficient time for fuel flow to [be] re-established through completely dry fuel lines and pumps." The pilot stated the following in the NTSB Form 6120.1/2 form under Owner/Operator Safety Recommendation: "Visually check all fuel tank levels on preflight. Do Not assume flight line people followed your requests."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.