CAA investigation into light aircraft crash: fuel found in one tank but not the other

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

The Civil Aviation Authority has released its findings into a light aircraft crash in the Waimata Valley last year.

An investigation was started after an Air Ruatoria Cessna P206E suffered an engine failure while cruising at 2500 feet (762 metres) on October 18, 2022.

“Trouble checks did not rectify the engine failure,” the CAA investigation found.

“The pilot declared a Mayday then they carried out a forced landing into a paddock. On touchdown the aircraft struck a tree and came to rest upside down. The pilot wasn’t injured but the aircraft was significantly damaged.

“The pilot had departed with about 75 litres of fuel onboard, and the aircraft had been airborne for approximately 22 minutes before the engine failure. The post-accident inspection didn’t uncover any pre-existing defects in the airframe, the engine fuel or ignition systems, or in any of the mechanical components of the engine.

“The aircraft was fitted with long-range fuel tanks, which had a higher quantity of unusable fuel compared with standard fuel tanks.

“After the accident, fuel was found in one of the tanks but not the other. It is possible that with the fuel onboard on departure, the selected tank was depleted after 22 minutes at low altitude, causing the engine to hesitate and then stop.

“When the pilot changed tanks during the trouble checks the fuel boost pump may not have been turned on, which could have prevented a successful restart of the engine.”

At the time, the pilot told The Gisborne Herald he considered himself “very fortunate” to have escaped injury, and also to have not hurt anyone else.

See also: www.gisborneherald.co.nz/news/pilot-sent-out-mayday-call-as-engine-failed