Cessna 188B N478Q

Summary

On 25 March 2004 at about 17:45 local time, a Cessna 188B registered N478Q, operated by T-Craft Inc., was involved in an accident near Planada, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 March 2004 at 17:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Planada, California, United States

Nearest airport

Chowchilla (K2O6)

Coordinates

37.2217, -120.3117

Aircraft

Cessna 188B

Registration

N478Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

T-Craft Inc.

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chowchilla → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX04LA170

Nobody was injured.

the partial loss of engine power due to the separation of the number 5 cylinder fuel injector supply line. The fuel line separation was due to company maintenance personnel's failure to secure the b-nut fitting following maintenance. Factors in the accident were the unsuitable nature of the terrain where the engine problem developed and the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while attempting to reach a suitable forced landing spot, which led to an inadvertent stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane experienced a partial loss of engine power and impacted flat terrain while maneuvering over farm fields. The pilot was applying fertilizer to an agriculture field. He was in a climbing turn, about 150 feet above ground level (agl), when he felt the airplane shake as if it was approaching a stall. He advanced the throttle. The engine did not sound normal, and the airplane was not able to maintain altitude. He was over an orchard and directed the airplane towards one of the fields he was working. The pilot said he was over that field, fighting the stall buffet, when the airplane gave up flying, spun over to the right inverted, and nosed down to the ground 50 feet below. The pilot exited, and the airplane was subjected to a post impact fire. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector performed a post accident examination of the airplane's engine at the operator's facility. He reported that the engine was a Continental IO-520-D that had folded under the wreckage against the ground, which provided protection from the post accident fire. Extensive heat damage was identified around cylinder number 5, which included local melting of the aluminum around the rocker cover and intake manifold. The number 5 cylinder fuel injector line was free of the fuel injector nozzle. The number 5 cylinder injector fuel line b-nut was found to be only finger tight. Examination of the airplane's maintenance logbook revealed that the engine oil cooler had been removed and replaced on March 12, 2004, approximately 36 flight hours prior to the accident. The FAA inspector said that a common practice used by mechanics was to move or adjust the number 5 cylinder fuel injector line in order to install or uninstall the engine oil cooler.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.