Accident Cessna 402B N3990C,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 21820
 
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Date:Tuesday 22 July 2008
Time:13:50
Type:Silhouette image of generic C402 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Cessna 402B
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N3990C
MSN: 402B0857
Year of manufacture:1975
Total airframe hrs:7222 hours
Engine model:Teledyne Continental TSIO-520
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Ocean Ridge, FL -   United States of America
Phase: En route
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Lantana, FL (LNA)
Destination airport:Pompano Beach, FL (PMP)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The commercial pilot, who was also the former owner of the twin-engine airplane, stated that the purpose of the flight was to reposition the airplane to an airport approximately 22 miles south of the departure airport. Just prior to the flight, he purchased 10 gallons of fuel for each of the two main tanks. The pilot reported that about 5 minutes after takeoff, at an altitude of approximately 1,000 feet, he experienced a "loss of engine power." However, his three separate accounts of the event were inconsistent with respect to which engine had a problem, or the specific nature of the problem. The pilot reported that the airplane started to lose altitude "rapidly," and that he attempted to "wag the wings" in order to "get all the fuel to be useable." The airplane struck a building and terrain approximately 8 miles south of the departure airport. The pilot sustained serious injuries, but there was no fire. Damage to the left engine and propeller was consistent with the engine running at impact, and precluded an attempt to run the left engine in a test cell. Damage to the right engine and propeller was consistent with low or no power at impact. The right engine was subsequently successfully run in a test cell. No evidence of any pre-accident anomalies that could have contributed to the accident was noted with the airframe, engines, or propellers. The fuel selector valve placards did not accurately depict the fuel system configuration. The fuel quantity and its distribution in the tanks, either at the beginning of the flight or at the time of the accident, could not be determined.
Probable Cause: A partial loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to add only a limited amount of fuel prior to the flight, and the fuel selector valve placards' inaccurate depiction of the airplane fuel tank configuration.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: NYC08LA255
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 11 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
23-Jul-2008 23:23 Fusko Added
21-Dec-2016 19:14 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
21-Dec-2016 19:16 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
21-Dec-2016 19:20 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
03-Dec-2017 11:27 ASN Update Bot Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]

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