# Accident 20140827018269A: Cessna 421C, Las Cruces, NM, August 27, 2014

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 27, 2014, 19:01 local time
- Place: Las Cruces, NM
- Airport: Las Cruces International Airpo
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: VWYA
- Location: 32.2558° N, 106.9822° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.2558&lon=-106.9822&mi=10
- Aircraft: N51RX, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N51RX-2018-03-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 421C (registry code 2076016, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-421c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 421C
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR GTSIO-520-L
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 4
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 1,570 total, 425 in this make and model, 43 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN14FA462](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN14FA462) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20140827018269A

## Narrative

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

ON AUGUST 27, 2014, AT 1856 MDT, N51RX, A CESSNA GOLDEN EAGLE (CE-421-C), MULTIENGINE AIRPLANE, REGISTERED TO ELITE MEDICAL AIR TRANSPORT, LLC, DEPARTED LAS CRUCES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (LRU), LAS CRUCES, NM, AFTER FUELING THE AIRCRAFT AND LOADING A PATIENT FOR THIS AIR AMBULANCE FLIGHT TO PHOENIX SKY HARBOR AIRPORT (PHX), PHOENIX, AZ.  THE WEATHER WAS VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND THE FLIGHT WAS PLANNED TO BE CONDUCTED UNDER INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES.  THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED ON RUNWAY 26.  SHORTLY AFTER THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED, THE MEDICAL PERSONNEL REPORTED TO THEIR COMMUNICATIONS CENTER THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS IN AN EMERGENCY AND WAS RETURNING TO LRU BECAUSE THE RIGHT ENGINE WAS SMOKING.  THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND IN AN EASTERLY DIRECTION, APPROXIMATELY THREE MILES SOUTHWEST OF LRU, NEAR THE COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS.  THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK MOUNDS OF EARTH THAT HAD ACCUMULATED UNDER MESQUITE TREES.  THESE MOUNDS WERE UP TO 8 FEET HIGH AND 30 FEET IN DIAMETER.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS TORN APART BY THE IMPACT.  WHEN THE FUEL TANKS WERE BREACHED, THE FUEL IGNITED AND THE AIRCRAFT CAUGHT ON FIRE.  EXCEPT FOR THE EMPENNAGE WHICH WAS BURNED BUT RECOGNIZABLE, THE AIRCRAFT WAS CONSUMED BY THE FIRE.  THE PILOT, TWO MEDICAL PERSONNEL AND THE SINGLE PATIENT WERE ALL KILLED BY THE IMPACT OR THE FIRE.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED.

THE PERSON WHO FUELED THE AIRCRAFT AT LRU REPORTED THAT HE PUT 20 GALLONS OF JET-A FUEL IN EACH MAIN TANK AND THAT HE REQUESTED ASSISTANCE FROM THE PILOT IN PUTTING THE CAPS BACK ON THE WING TANKS.  PRIOR TO THE DEPARTURE OF THE AIRCRAFT, NEITHER THE PILOT NOR THE FUELER REALIZED THAT THE ADDED JET-A FUEL HAD CONTAMINATED THE AIRCRAFT?S FUEL SYSTEM.  THE ENGINES ON THE AIRCRAFT REQUIRED 100 LL GASOLINE TO OPERATE PROPERLY.

## 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 CEN14FA462](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN14FA462), Aug 28, 2014: Cessna 421C (N51RX), Las Cruces, NM, destroyed, 4 fatal. Probable cause: The misfueling of the airplane with jet fuel instead of the required aviation fuel, and the resultant detonation and a total loss of engine power during initial climb. Contributing to the accident…

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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