Cessna 402C N594DM

Summary

On 11 March 2008 at about 04:50 local time, a Cessna 402C registered N594DM, operated by Aero Charter & Transport, was involved in an accident near Mercury, Nevada, 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

11 March 2008 at 04:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Mercury, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Desert Rock (DRA)

Coordinates

36.6167, -116.0167

Aircraft

Cessna 402C

Registration

N594DM

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Aero Charter & Transport

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Reno → Las Vegas

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX08LA073

Nobody was injured.

A loss of power to both engines resulting from a fitting failure and leak at the right fuel selector valve that allowed fuel from the right tank to be lost overboard, and that then introduced air into the left engine's fuel lines during an attempted cross-feed operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the flight, the right fuel gauge indicated a decreasing amount of fuel while the left fuel gauge was constant. The pilot attempted to cross-feed fuel from the left tank and he set the auxiliary pumps to LOW. He saw no indication on the fuel gauge of a decrease in the left tank, and the right tank gauge continued to show a decrease in fuel. The right engine lost power; he secured the engine and feathered the propeller. Shortly thereafter, the left engine lost power. Air traffic control provided vectors to the nearest airport and the pilot managed to glide to the airport, landing gear-up on the runway. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector responded to the accident site and found 12 ounces of fuel in the right fuel tank. The left fuel tank had ruptured with significant fuel staining evidenced on the ground under the left wing. An inspection of the airplane's fuel system revealed a leak at the flexible rubber fuel hose/hose clamp at the right fuel valve. No anomalies were found in the fuel system for the left engine. The fuel system has left and right main fuel tanks in wet wings that supply their respective engines in normal flight. An auxiliary fuel pump, located outside the tank in line between the tank and the fuel selector valve, provides fuel pressure for priming during engine start and to purge fuel vapor from the lines when necessary. In the event of an engine-driven fuel pump failure, the auxiliary pumps can provide adequate fuel for engine operation. The engine-driven fuel pumps are the main pumps for the system and draw fuel by suction from the tanks through the fuel valves. Two fuel selector handles in the cockpit move the fuel valves in the wings and have positions for each main tank, cross feed, and off. During normal flight, the left selector valve is positioned to the left tank and feeds the left engine, while the right selector valve is positioned to the right tank and feeds the right engine. Fuel may be cross-fed from either main tank to the engine(s) by positioning both selector valves to the desired fuel tank. With a fitting leak on one valve, a cross-feed selection for both engines could introduce air into the operating engine's fuel lines. An "OFF" position on each valve can be selected by pushing a center button on the selector, which would stop fuel to the corresponding engine-driven fuel pump.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.