On February 20, 2008, at 1119 eastern standard time, a Raytheon A36, N36GJ, was substantially damaged during a forced landing, shortly after takeoff, from Palm Beach County Glades Airport (PHK), Pahokee, Florida. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The personal flight was destined for Lakefront Airport (NEW), New Orleans, Louisiana.
According to the pilot, the flight originally departed from North Palm Beach County Airport (F45), West Palm Beach, Florida. He performed a preflight inspection prior to departure from F45, and noticed no anomalies. Shortly after takeoff, the airplane's engine began to "surge." The pilot reported the engine "surging" to air traffic control (ATC), and the controller informed him that he was 7 miles from PHK. The pilot was able to maintain altitude, and landed uneventfully at PHK.
After landing, the pilot examined the engine, and checked the fuel system for leaks or contamination. He observed no anomalies and decided to depart again, after performing a run-up inspection. After departure from PHK, the pilot attempted to retract the landing gear, but the gear would not retract. He attempted to recycle the landing gear, but was again unsuccessful in retracting it, and decided to return to F45 instead of continuing to NEW. When the airplane was about 9 miles from PHK and an altitude of about 2,000 feet, the engine started to lose power, and the pilot prepared for a forced landing. He attempted unsuccessfully to restart the engine by switching fuel tanks and turning on the fuel boost pump. The pilot then observed a paved road, but decided to land in a sugar cane field parallel to the road instead. During the landing, the landing gear "dug in" and the airplane rotated onto its nose.
Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed substantial damage to the airplane's firewall. Additionally, the inspector noted the airplane landed approximately 50 feet from the paved road.
The engine was removed from the accident site for further examination, under the supervision of an FAA inspector. According to the inspector, during a test run of the engine it would "not run on the engine driven fuel pump." When the electric fuel boost pump was turned on, the engine started normally and ran without hesitation.
The fuel pump was sent to Continental Engines for further examination, under the supervision of a National Transportation Safety Board investigator. The examination revealed the fuel pump could not be rotated by hand and was disassembled. Examination of the fuel pump vane cavity revealed rust and corrosion. The cavity was rinsed with a mixture of aviation gasoline and penetrating oil, and the pump was then able to rotate. It was re-assembled for a functional test and produced both low and high-end pressures without anomaly.
According to airplane maintenance records, the engine was overhauled and reinstalled on the airplane on December 16, 2007. The overhaul included overhauling the fuel pump. After the installation of the engine and prior to the end of the month, an annual inspection was completed on the engine. No anomalies were noted at that time.
At the time of the accident, the airplane had flown 12 hours since the inspection.
The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for single and multi-engine land and instrument airplane. He also held a third-class medical certificate. At the time of the accident, the pilot reported 3,500 hours of total flight experience, 900 of which were in make and model of the accident airplane.
The weather reported at Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), Palm Beach, Florida, located approximately 30 miles east of the accident site, at 1053, included wind from 080 degrees at 12 knots, 10 miles visibility, few clouds at 3,600 feet, temperature 23 degrees Celsius (C), dew point 13 degrees C, and altimeter setting 30.22 inches of mercury.