Incident Details
At 1418 central daylight time on May 6, 2022, a Cessna 421 airplane, Mexican registration XB-FQS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Houston, Texas. The pilot and three passengers sustained minor injuries. The flight was conducted as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
According to the pilot, upon arriving at the airport's fixed-base operator (FBO) facility, his son requested that the airplane be fueled with 70 gallons in each wing tank. The fueling was observed, and the airplane was later towed to the FBO building. The preflight inspection and taxi were completed without issues. During the takeoff roll, about halfway, the pilot felt the airplane was "feeling weird" but could not stop on the remaining runway. Shortly after takeoff, the engines began losing power, and the airplane could not climb sufficiently to return to the airport. The pilot executed a forced landing to a field ahead. During the landing, the landing gear collapsed, and the airplane struck a perimeter fence. The left wing separated outboard of the engine nacelle, and the airplane came to rest in a residential backyard. A postimpact fire consumed the outboard portion of the left wing.
Fueling Process
A representative of the FBO stated that the pilot's son placed the fuel order with a front counter customer service representative. The order was noted as "70 neg each" and confirmed with the pilot's son. The order relayed to line service was for "70 gallons each wing – negative," indicating that a fuel additive (Prist) should not be added. The type of fuel was not discussed. The airplane was subsequently fueled with 140 total gallons of Jet A fuel without the Prist additive. The line service worker who fueled the airplane reported that there were no decals at the airplane fuel ports and that, for that reason, he confirmed the order with the front desk before adding Jet A fuel.
Postaccident Examination
The airplane was powered by two reciprocating engines requiring 100/100 low-lead minimum-grade aviation fuel (AVGAS). FAA inspectors found that the right-wing fuel port had decals noting "100/130 Aviation Grade Min" and "AVGAS ONLY." The decal text was faded but clearly visible. Due to fire damage to the left wing, the investigation could not determine if there were any left-wing fuel port decals. The fueling truck used had a placard indicating "Jet A," and an elongated fuel nozzle was installed, corresponding with Jet A fueling operations.
Corrective Actions
After the accident, the FBO implemented additional communication requirements and awareness training related to aircraft fueling to prevent an incorrect fueling event from occurring.