CEN18LA163

Before taking off for the skydiving flight with four passengers, the commercial pilot refueled the airplane. Shortly after the airplane rotated, the passengers told the pilot that fuel was leaking from the left wing. The pilot believed that the leak was an immediate fire risk, so he decided to perform an off-airport landing. The pilot abruptly lowered the airplane’s nose and landed in a field. The airplane impacted terrain in a left-wing-low attitude and then hit a berm. The engine and right main landing gear separated during the impact sequence, and the left and right wings sustained substantial damage. Postaccident examination revealed that the left-wing fuel tank cap was not secured and was dangling by the chain. During examination, no issues or anomalies with the left-wing fuel cap or fuel tank filler inlet were found, and the fuel cap was able to be fully secured. An examination of the airframe, engine, and remaining systems revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Given the evidence, it is likely that the pilot did not secure the left-wing fuel cap after refueling the airplane. The airport was less than 1 mile away when the passengers told the pilot about the leak. It is possible that the pilot could have returned to the airport and landed the airplane at the airport without further incident.

On May 8, 2018, about 1500 central daylight time, a Cessna 182F airplane, N3291U, impacted a field 0.3 miles southeast of the airport shortly after takeoff from The Carter Memorial Airport (T91), Luling, Texas. The commercial pilot and 2 passengers sustained minor injuries, and 2 passengers were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The skydiving flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight plan had been filed for the flight. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.According to statements from the pilot and the passengers, shortly after the airplane rotated, the passengers noticed that fuel was leaking from the left wing. The passengers brought it to the attention of the pilot. The pilot perceived the leak as an immediate fire risk and felt it was necessary to perform an off-airport landing. The pilot abruptly lowered the nose of the airplane and landed in a field. According to the FAA inspector who responded to the accident, during the forced landing to the field the airplane hit the ground in a left-wing low attitude and then hit a berm. The airplane came to rest in a field to the southeast of the departure end of runway 17. The engine and the right main landing gear separated during the impact sequence. Both the left and right wings were substantially damaged. The left-wing fuel tank cap was dangling by the chain and was not secured. There were no issues or anomalies with the left fuel cap or left-wing fuel tank filler inlet and the left fuel cap was able to be securely installed at the time of the examination. An examination of the airframe, engine, and remaining systems revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. The pilot had fueled the airplane before the accident flight.