ALTO, GA, USA
N14690
BELLANCA 17-30
DURING A NORMAL DESCENT, THE ENGINE SPUTTERED. THE PILOT STATED THAT THE SPUTTER INDICATED THAT THE AUXILIARY FUEL TANK, WHICH WAS IN USE, HAD BEEN EMPTIED. HE SWITCHED FUEL TANKS & HELD THE BOOST PUMP IN PRIME. THE ENGINE SPUTTERED & SURGED BUT WOULD NOT CONTINUE OPERATING. AN ATTEMPT TO REACH A NEARBY AIRPORT WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. THEREFORE, A FORCED LANDING WAS MADE IN A FIELD ADJACENT TO A WAREHOUSE. AFTER LANDING, THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH THE TRACKS OF A RAILROAD SPUR, WHICH SEPARATED THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR. THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED THE LANDING ROLL UNTIL THE RIGHT WING STRUCK A UTILITY POLE. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED NO FUEL IN THE AUXILIARY FUEL TANK, USABLE FUEL IN THE WING TANKS, & THE FUEL SELECTOR IN THE RIGHT WING TANK POSITION. AFTER THE AIRPLANE HAD BEEN MOVED, FUEL WHICH HAD BEEN DRAINED FROM IT AT THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS USED IN THE AUXILIARY TANK TO OPERATE THE ENGINE.
THE PILOT'S MISMANGEMENT OF THE FUEL IN THAT HE DELAYED SELECTION OF A FUEL TANK WITH USABLE FUEL, AND THE EXCESSIVE FINAL LANDING SPEED. FACTORS WERE THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO EXTEND THE FLAPS AND THE ROUGH/UNEVEN TERRAIN BECAUSE OF THE RAILROAD SPUR.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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