- Date
- June 21, 1985, 20:48 local (Jun 22, 1985, 00:48 UTC)
- Place
- College Park, MD
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N93533Bellanca 17-30A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 11135
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Bfr flt, the plt obtained fuel samples thru the remotely operated gascolator, but detected no water. No samples could bedrawn directly fm the wing or fuselage tanks since they had no quick drains installed. A pwr loss occurred drg takeoff at 50 to 100 ft AGL. The plt switched fuel tanks (from l to r main) & engaged the boost pump. Eng pwr returned as the acft struck utility lines near the end of the rwy. The acft then crashed & hit a fence bfr coming to rest. A similar pwrloss occurred aprx 3 wks earlier. Maint psnl found a loose l tank fuel cap which could have allowed water to leak into this tank. A mechanic adjusted the fuel cap for a tight fit. The acft was then flown twice, prior to the acdnt, with no evidence of water in the fuel or other discrepancies. However, after the acdnt, direct access to the l main tank revealed the presence of water which was colored pink. Pink stains were also present on the tank wall above the aft fuel outlet port. The outlet ports of the interconnected main tank cells were 3/8 to 1/2 inch above the tank bottoms.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N93533
- Reported as
- Bellanca 17-30A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 73-30575
- Airframe hours
- 1,652
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-K, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- William D. Breneman
- Registered owner
- J And B Company
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 1, 1984 · 30 hours before
- Airport
- CGS · College Park, runway 33, 2,740 × 40 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,187 total · 468 in this make and model · 2,235 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 180° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DCA, 10 nm away