Champion 7EC N9891B

Summary

On 6 July 2016 at about 13:30 local time, a Champion 7EC registered N9891B was involved in an accident near Placedo, Texas, 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

6 July 2016 at 13:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Placedo, Texas, United States

Coordinates

28.6642, -96.7769

Aircraft

Champion 7EC

Registration

N9891B

Category

Airplane

Year built

1958

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Port Lavaca → Victoria

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN16LA251

Nobody was injured.

The inadequate annual inspection of the fuel system that failed to detect a deteriorated fuel line and a misrigged fuel selector, which resulted in fuel starvation and a subsequent total loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was the mechanic’s failure to verify the work completed by the owner before endorsing the annual inspection.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport pilot was conducting the first flight in the airplane after an extended period of inactivity. The pilot reported that, about 10-15 minutes after takeoff, the engine sputtered. He applied carburetor heat and checked the position of the fuel selector and the magnetos. The engine operation smoothed out; however, a short time later, the engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot conducted a forced landing in a corn field, which resulted in substantial damage to the airframe. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the fuel line between the fuel strainer and the carburetor was deteriorated and leaking fuel, and the fuel selector was rigged in such a way that it would only open about 25%, which limited the amount of fuel flowing to the engine. The mechanic who signed off the airplane's most recent annual inspection, which was completed the month before the accident, reported that the airplane's owner assisted with the inspection, and that he did not verify the owner's work before endorsing the annual inspection.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.