What happened
On July 28, 2014, a Cessna 180 Skywagon, registration HK907, was performing a taxi flight from Girardot to Guaymaral, Colombia. While on final approach to runway 11, the aircraft suffered a total loss of engine power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine, but the failure persisted. Due to the low altitude, the pilot executed an emergency landing in a nearby potato field.
During the landing sequence, the aircraft struck a wire fence, which caused the left main landing gear to detach. The impact with the terrain also resulted in structural damage to the left wing and the bending of the right landing gear. Despite the impact, the pilot and three passengers evacuated the aircraft on their own. The occupants sustained minor injuries to their faces, and the pilot was treated for a nosebleed, but no fatalities occurred.
The investigation
The GRIAA investigation examined the engine, fuel system, and maintenance records. Investigators found that the aircraft's engine had a history of intermittent issues, including a maintenance entry from May 2014 regarding engine stalling, which had been addressed via fuel system calibration. While the aircraft's weight and balance calculations were found to be inaccurate—underestimating the actual weight of a passenger—this was not determined to be a contributing factor to the engine failure.
Upon inspecting the engine, investigators found that the fuel tanks and lines were clean, but the fuel filter contained significant contamination, including dirt and foreign solid particles. The investigation noted that the operator subcontracts maintenance, and there were difficulties in retrieving complete maintenance records from the contracted workshop.
Findings
- The primary cause of the engine failure was contamination within the fuel system, specifically dirt and foreign particles found in the fuel filter, which likely obstructed fuel flow during power reduction.
- The pilot's decision to land in the field was a controlled maneuver intended to ensure the survival of the occupants given the proximity to the ground.
- The aircraft's maintenance program complied with manufacturer specifications, though the presence of contaminants suggests potential issues during refueling or within the maintenance quality control process.
Safety action
- The operator was recommended to update its maintenance manual to include additional inspections of fuel system components to ensure quality control over subcontracted maintenance.
- The operator was advised to conduct safety briefings for pilots regarding the importance of draining fuel tanks to check for contaminants and strictly following engine start and warm-up checklists.