Accident Details
On March 29, 2009, at 1845 central daylight time, a Cessna P210N, registration N210BF, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Georgetown Municipal Airport (GTU), Georgetown, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The personal flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. The private pilot received minor injuries, and the passenger sustained serious injuries. The local flight departed GTU at approximately 1750.
Events Leading to Forced Landing
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the airplane was preparing to land at GTU when the engine lost power. The pilot performed a forced landing to a road west of the airport. During the landing, the airplane impacted trees and then the road, sliding several feet before hitting a mailbox. The aircraft sustained damage including separation of the nose wheel, bending of the left main landing gear, folding of the right main landing gear, separation of the left wing auxiliary fuel tank (tip tank) and left elevator, fuselage skin wrinkling, and bending of the horizontal stabilizer.
In separate telephone conversations with the FAA and the NTSB investigator-in-charge, the pilot stated that while on base leg for the landing runway, he initiated a turn to final approach and noted the left fuel tank was low. He extended the landing gear and set flaps to 10 degrees. He then moved the fuel selector valve to the right tank. After the switch, he noticed losing altitude and engine power loss. The pilot stated he was too low to take action, aimed for an opening in the trees, and attempted an engine restart by turning the auxiliary fuel pump on and cranking the engine. The pilot also mentioned that his headset drowned out engine noise.
In a written statement, the pilot said that during pre-landing preparation he switched from the left to the right fuel tank, after which the engine lost power. The propeller continued rotating. He attempted restart with the auxiliary pump to no avail.
Post-Accident Examination
The Georgetown fire department reported fuel leaking from the airplane, though the source was not specified. The aircraft was transported to the airport where fuel was drained. An employee of B & G Aviation, LLC assisted in draining approximately 20 gallons from the right tank to prevent leakage. An FAA inspection the next morning found a measurable quantity of fuel in the right main tank. The left main tank was empty, and the left tip tank had separated during impact.
Engine and Fuel System Examination
On September 29-30, 2009, the engine was examined at Teledyne Continental Motors in Mobile, Alabama. It was mounted in a test cell and ran for at least 15 minutes across incremental RPM increases, demonstrating normal operation and rated horsepower without hesitation. On October 1, 2009, a Cessna investigator examined the fuel system under FAA auspices, finding no contamination in fuel lines and normal auxiliary fuel pump function. The left main fuel tank was intact aside from the separated left tip tank. No other system anomalies were noted.
The aircraft was equipped with a JP Instruments EDM 700 engine data monitor. Its nonvolatile memory recorded parameters over about one hour and six minutes for the accident flight. Fuel flow ranged from 3.7 to 37.1 gallons per hour. Ten minutes before the recording ended, fuel flow was 22.1 gph. At 1842:18, fuel flow dropped to 14.3 gph, and at 1843:24 it reached zero. Exhaust gas and cylinder head temperatures decreased correspondingly shortly after the fuel flow drop. The unit recorded for an additional two and a half minutes after fuel flow ceased. According to Teledyne Continental Motors, recorded temperatures were below maximum allowable for the TSIO-520-P engine.
The pilot's operating handbook for the Cessna 210 outlines in-flight engine restart procedures (maintain 85 knots, check fuel, switch to fullest tank, etc.) and emergency landing procedures (maintain 80 knots, mixture idle cut-off, etc.). The pilot reported landing with 10 degrees of flaps and turning off the master switch, ignition, and avionics after coming to rest.