Taylorcraft BC12-D1 N44374

Summary

On 3 June 2022 at about 15:15 local time, a Taylorcraft BC12-D1 registered N44374 was involved in an accident near Pittsboro, North Carolina, United States. 2 people were 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

3 June 2022 at 15:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Pittsboro, North Carolina, United States

Coordinates

35.6905, -79.2565

Aircraft

Taylorcraft BC12-D1

Registration

N44374

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sanford → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA258

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot, and flight instructor’s, inadequate preflight inspection, during which they failed to detect water contamination in the fuel system, which resulted in a total loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot, and his flight instructor, were on a local training flight practicing maneuvers. Shortly after the student transferred fuel from the wing tanks to the main fuel tank, the engine lost all power. Unable to restart the engine, they performed a forced landing to a wheat field. During the landing, the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. Examination of the airplane revealed water and corrosion present in the fuel gascolator. The night before the accident the airplane was parked outside, and it had rained. The student pilot reported that as part of his preflight, he drained the sump at the bottom of the engine but did not drain the wing fuel sumps. The flight instructor reported that he was not familiar with the airplane and the location of the fuel sumps.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.