Accident
On June 27, 2014, at 1219 eastern daylight time, a Cessna T207, registration N207AB, landed short of runway 23L at Indianapolis International Airport (KIND), Indianapolis, Indiana. The airplane was substantially damaged, and the pilot and passenger sustained minor injuries. The aircraft was registered to Aero Systems, Inc., of Erie, Colorado, and operated by Surdex Corporation, of Chesterfield, Missouri, under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a business flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
The flight originated from Indianapolis International Airport at approximately 0845 and had been engaged in aerial mapping of an area north of the airport. According to the pilot's accident report, he departed with full fuel (80 gallons total, 76 gallons useable). After about 3 hours of aerial work, he returned to KIND. When the airplane was 1.5 miles from runway 23L, the engine lost power. The pilot cleared the airport perimeter fence, but the airplane impacted terrain short of the runway.
Investigation
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors examined the airplane on the day of the accident and again on June 30 and July 7. According to the principal maintenance inspector's report, the airplane was placed in a level position and the fuel tanks were visually inspected. No fuel was observed in the left tank, but fuel could be seen in the right tank. When the left tank was sumped, no fuel was recovered. The fuel selector was found positioned on the right tank. When the airplane was raised, fuel leaked in the area of the main fuel line strainer. When the fuel selector was moved to the left tank position, the fuel stopped leaking. Fuel that was collected showed no evidence of contamination.
According to FlightAware, a global aviation software and data services company, the airplane's average ground speed was 107 knots. Using the assumption that each tank contained 36.5 gallons of useable fuel and that the power loss occurred 3.9 hours after departure, FAA inspectors calculated the fuel consumption rate to be slightly less than 10 gallons per hour.
FAA photographs indicated that the beginning Hobbs meter and tachometer times were 1,737.2 and 627.1 hours, respectively, and the ending times were 1,741.1 and 630.5 hours, a difference of 3.9 and 3.4 hours.
Findings
The investigation revealed that the left fuel tank was empty, while the right tank contained fuel. The fuel selector was positioned to the right tank. A fuel leak was observed at the main fuel line strainer when the airplane was raised, which stopped when the selector was moved to the left tank. No fuel contamination was detected. The calculated fuel consumption rate was consistent with the flight duration.