Accident Details
On January 27, 2018, at about 1140 central standard time, an Aero Commander 680F, registration N900L, was substantially damaged during takeoff from T.W. Spear Memorial Airport (4AL9) in Lapine, Alabama. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant and owner of the aircraft, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
The pilot had recently purchased the airplane and had completed two previous takeoffs and landings to a full stop. During the third takeoff on runway 4, as he began to rotate, the left engine lost power. The airplane veered left, struck trees damaging both wings and the fuselage, and came to rest in a swamp adjacent to the runway. The pilot stated that the left engine was not running and he shut down the right engine before exiting.
Aircraft and Maintenance History
The previous owner reported that the airplane had not been flown since 2005 or 2006. The pilot hired a mechanic who completed and signed off an annual inspection two days before the accident, on January 25, 2018. The previous owner informed the mechanic that the left engine fuel controller had been malfunctioning and that the boost pump had to remain on until the engine warmed up, suggesting the controller needed overhaul or replacement. Maintenance logbooks contained no entry regarding inspection or flush of the airplane's fuel system; however, entries in both engine logbooks stated "checked fuel injector and inspected fuel system" but no fuel components were replaced.
At the time of the annual inspection, the airframe had 3,562.5 total flight hours, the left engine had 42.2 hours, and the right engine had 466.7 hours. According to the airplane's hour meter, the accident occurred after 0.2 hours (about 10–15 minutes) of flight since the inspection.
The mechanic purchased 100LL fuel and placed about 100 gallons in the center tank and about 5 gallons in the auxiliary tanks. The previous owner observed the mechanic sump "a great deal of fuel" prior to the flight. The recovery company later recovered about 135 gallons of 100LL blue aviation fuel from the center tank, which was absent of debris and water.
Postaccident Examination
Postaccident examination of the left engine found no mechanical deficiencies precluding normal operation. The crankshaft was rotated via propeller, establishing valve train and compression. The right magneto sparked at all ignition leads, and the left magneto, when spun with a drill, also sparked at each terminal. Spark plugs were gray with normal wear. The fuel selectors for both engines were in the "center" tank position. The electric boost pump was dirty and littered with mud-daubers and did not operate when power was applied. The main fuel line from the boost pump to the fuel controller was disassembled; shop air blown through the line released fuel captured in a mason jar, which was yellowish, smelled like auto-gas, and contained small bubbles of water. The fuel strainer between the pump and controller had a screen free of debris, but fuel drained from the strainer bowl was black and smelled like auto-gas.
Pilot Information
The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine and multiengine land, and instrument airplane, as well as a flight instructor certificate and a Douglas DC-3 type-rating. His last FAA third-class medical was issued on January 20, 2017, at which time he reported 3,000 total flight hours. He told an FAA inspector he had accumulated about 15–20 hours in an Aero Commander, approximately 25 years before the accident.
The airplane's flight manual included an emergency procedure for engine failure on takeoff at speeds over 105 MPH (91 knots). The pilot stated that he did not use a checklist during the flight and that a checklist was not provided with the airplane when he purchased it.