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| Date: | Friday 24 May 2013 |
| Time: | 15:40 |
| Type: |  Cessna 185A |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | ZK-MIT |
| MSN: | 185-0504 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Takaka -
 New Zealand
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA NZ |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
The aircraft was en route to Takaka after dropping some passengers at an airstrip about 14 NM to the west of Takaka. The engine failed after 10 minutes' flight time, and the pilot made a forced landing in a paddock about 3 NM north-west of Takaka Aerodrom e. The left main undercarriage leg folded after a ground roll of 50 metres, and the aircraft came to rest on its cargo pod, the propeller striking the ground in the process. The pilot reported that he had established that the fuel quantity by dipstick before leaving the strip, and had a total of 55 litres on board. During the recovery operation, there was evidence of a substantial quantity of fuel having been on board at the time of the forced landing. Subsequent engineering investigation found a quantity of fine ferrous material in the fuel filter and gascolator, as well as in the wing tank bladder folds and fuel lines. There was no evidence of this contaminant in the fuel drum and pump the pilot had used at Takaka, but three jerrycans that were used before the flight contained the same material. These cans had been filled at Feilding three weeks earlier, but examination of the Feilding fuel facility found no trace of the ferrous material. No other aircraft had been similarly affected, and the source of the contamination remains unknown.
Sources:
CAA NZ Occurrence 13/2635
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 21 April 1965 | ZK-CCL | Rural Aviation (1963) Ltd | 0 | New Plymouth, Taranaki | |
sub |
| 19 April 1966 | ZK-CCL | Rural Aviation (1963) Ltd | 0 | near Feilding, Manawatu 2 | |
w/o |
| 12 March 1967 | ZK-CTN | Rural Aviation (1963) Ltd | 0 | Tarata, Taranaki | |
w/o |
| 18 November 1981 | ZK-CVF | Mount Cook Group Ltd | 0 | Tasman Glacier, Mount Cook NP | |
min |
| 25 October 1986 | ZK-CVF | Mount Cook Group Ltd | Murchison Glacier, Mount Cook NP | |
unk | |
| 20 August 1989 | ZK-CVF | Mount Cook Group Ltd | Tasman Glacier, Mount Cook NP | |
unk |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-May-2025 18:07 | ASN | Added |
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