# Accident 19980110000179A: Gulstm 500B, Ennis, TX, January 10, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 10, 1998, 14:27 local time
- Place: Ennis, TX
- Airport: Ennis Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Climb
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.3291° N, 96.6203° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.3291&lon=-96.6203&mi=10
- Aircraft: N556BW, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N556BW-1998-09-01) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aero Commander 500-B (registry code 0141106, https://openairdocs.org/model/aero-commander-500-b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: GULSTM 500B
- Reported engine: LYC IO540E1B5
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 1,550 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98FA092](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA092) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980110000179A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

PILOT ADVISED THE ACFT HAD A FUEL TRANSFER PROB AND ATTEMPT TO RETURN TO A NEARBY ARPT. ENNIS, TX. (-23) SAFETY RECOMMENDATION: AD ON FUEL PUMP OF MG SHOULD BE POWDER COATED. MG OH FOUND BY LAB ANALYSIS DUE TO H2O IN PUMP.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  (.4)AFTER DEPARTING ON AN IFR FLIGHT IN VFR CONDITIONS, THE FLIGHT HAD BEEN CLEARED TO CLIMB FROM 3,000 TO 4,000 FT, WHEN THE RIGHT ENGINE LOST POWER. THE PILOTS DIVERTED TOWARD AN UNCONTROLLED AIRPORT, SECURED THE RIGHT ENGINE, & CANCELLED THEIR IFR CLEARANCE. THEY MADE AN APPROACH TO LAND ON RUNWAY 15, THEN ATTEMPTED A SINGLE ENGINE GO-AROUND. DURING THE GO-AROUND, THE AIRPLANE YAWED/ROLLED TO THE RIGHT IN WHAT THE PASSENGER BELIEVED WAS A VMC ROLL. IT THEN STRUCK POWER LINES & CRASHED IN A RIGHT WING LOW ATTITUDE. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT BOTH PILOTS HELD MULTI-ENGINE RATINGS. THE OWNER SAID THE PILOT (PIC) HAD FLOWN THE AIRPLANE FOR A SHORT TIME ON 12/21/98; HOWEVER, NO OTHER RECORD WAS FOUND TO VERIFY THAT EITHER THE PILOT OR COPILOT HAD FLIGHT EXPERIENCE IN THIS MAKE/MODEL OF AIRPLANE. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED EVIDENCE THAT THE FLAPS WERE RETRACTED, THE LANDING GEAR WAS IN TRANSIT, THE LEFT PROPELLER WAS OPERATING WITH POWER, & THE RIGHT PROPELLER WAS FEATHERED. THE AIRPLANE HAD A HISTORY OF FUEL FLOW FLUCTUATIONS IN THE RIGHT ENGINE. THE DIAPHRAGM (P/N 364446) IN THE RIGHT ENGINE DISTRIBUTOR VALVE ASSEMBLY WAS FOUND RUPTURED. IT WAS AN OLD STYLE DIAPHRAGM, WHIICH WAS COLORED  BLACK. BENDIX SERVICE BULLETIN RS-76, ISSUED 11/15/80, ACLLED FOR REPLACEMENT OF THE BLACK DIAGRAPM WITH A RED FLUOROSILICONE DIAPHRAGM (P/N 245088) AT OVERHAUL. THE ENGINE WAS OVERHAULED IN JUNE 1992. DURING MAINTENANCE IN DECEMBER 1997, BOTH FUEL SYSTEMS INJUECTORS & NOZZLES WERE TESTED;HOWEVER, THE DISTRIBUTOR VALVE ASSEMBLIES WERE NOT TESTED. CALCULATIONS SHOWED THE AIRPLANE WAS LOADED 116.3 LBS OVER THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE GROSS WEIGHT & 1.3 INCHES FORWARD OF THE ALLOWABLE CG RANGE.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB FTW98FA092](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA092), Jan 10, 1998: Aero Commander 500-B (N556BW), Ennis, TX, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: failure of the flight crew to maintain minimum control speed (Vmc) during go-around from a single-engine approach, which resulted in loss of control and collision with power lines and the ground.…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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