Beechcraft 3NM N9540

Summary

On 12 May 2012 at about 19:30 local time, a Beechcraft 3NM registered N9540 was involved in an accident near Pope Valley, California, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 May 2012 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Pope Valley, California, United States

Nearest airport

Pope Valley (05CL)

Coordinates

38.6108, -122.3914

Aircraft

Beechcraft 3NM

Registration

N9540

Category

Airplane

Year built

1952

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pope Valley → Pope Valley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12LA201

3 people had minor injuries.

A loss of power in one engine during takeoff, which resulted in a forced landing in a vineyard. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined from the available evidence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the owner-pilot, the engine start and run-up were normal. Shortly after liftoff, when the airplane had reached an altitude of about 50 feet above the runway, the right engine lost power. Because the airspeed was still well below the minimum single-engine control speed and the landing gear had not yet been retracted, the pilot continued straight ahead and landed the airplane in a vineyard just beyond the end of the runway. The airplane's forward motion was stopped by multiple rows of metal-wire trellises oriented perpendicular to the direction of travel, and then the airplane nosed over onto its back. Lack of certain equipment and other resources prevented complete postaccident examination or testing of the airframe and engine, but the examination did reveal three anomalies. About 5 drops of water were found in the right main fuel tank, even though the pilot reported that he did not detect any water from any tanks during his preflight inspection and that the airplane had been in a hangar since the accident. It was possible that the engine ingested and was affected by some undetected water that migrated to a fuel inlet after the tail came up on the takeoff roll. The fuel suction crossfeed valve handle was found rotated about 70 degrees (of 90 degrees full travel) toward its OFF position, which is the takeoff setting. Because the valve is located under the copilot seat, it is more likely that the valve was not fully rotated before the takeoff rather than dislodged during or after the accident. According to a manufacturer's representative, an open crossfeed valve could interfere with fuel flow to the engines. However, the investigation was unable to positively determine whether the valve position did interfere with normal engine operation. Finally, the right engine fuel pump was not a unit specified by the airplane manufacturer. The investigation was unable to determine when that pump was installed or whether it had any significant performance differences from the manufacturer-specified units. However, based on the observed condition of the pump and the history of the airplane, the airplane had likely been operated uneventfully with that fuel pump for many years.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.