Piper PA36 N3711E

Summary

On 28 May 2017 at about 14:10 local time, a Piper PA36 registered N3711E, operated by Trade Wind Ag Services Inc, was involved in an accident near El Campo, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 May 2017 at 14:10

Classification

Accident

Location

El Campo, Texas, United States

Coordinates

29.1231, -96.2469

Aircraft

Piper PA36

Registration

N3711E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Trade Wind Ag Services Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

El Campo → El Campo

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17LA202

1 person was seriously injured.

Foam contamination in the fuel injector nozzles from deteriorated foam baffles and water in the fuel flow divider, the combination of which resulted in the loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was conducting an agricultural application flight when the airplane experienced a loss of engine power. The airplane subsequently impacted an adjacent field in a nose-low, left-wing-low attitude. Due to his injuries, the pilot did not recall the details of the accident flight, loss of engine power, or impact sequence. The location of the wreckage, the debris field, and the damage to the airplane are consistent with the airplane being in a turn at the time of the accident. An examination of the engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. An examination of the fuel system revealed that the internal foam baffles in both fuel tanks were discolored and deteriorated, and they disintegrated into very fine particles when touched. According to the owner/operator, during routine maintenance 5 days before the accident, a mechanic found blue foam, which he identified as coming from the foam baffles, in the fuel filter at the engine. Subsequent periodic inspections of the screen revealed no contaminants. The postaccident examination of three fuel injector nozzles revealed that they were plugged with an unknown substance. In addition, evidence of water was found in the fuel flow divider. It is likely that, given the condition of the foam baffles and the owner's previous identification of foam in the fuel system, that the particles found in the fuel injector nozzles were from the foam baffles. This contamination, in combination with the water found in the fuel flow divider, likely resulted in the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.