# NTSB ERA20LA278: Cessna P210, N6300W, Allendale, SC, August 7, 2020 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: August 7, 2020, 10:36 local (14:36 UTC) - Place: Allendale, SC - Coordinates: 32.986389, -81.26667 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.9864&lon=-81.2667&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Approach-VFR pattern final: Fuel related](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 2 serious - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO, Textron Aviation - NTSB case key (mKey): 101755 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA20LA278 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/101755/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101755 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA20LA278 ## Probable cause A total loss of engine power as a result of fuel starvation due to contamination from a thermoplastic polymer used in the fuel system. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to report debris observed in the fuel system during previous preflight inspections to maintenance personnel. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Fuel system: fuel filter-strainer](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01022821): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Damaged/degraded (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna P210N, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01022821/cases.md?model=2073454), [All aircraft, 52 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01022821/cases.md) - [Action: lack of action](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041030): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna P210N, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041030/cases.md?model=2073454), [All aircraft, 792 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041030/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Prior to flight: Preflight or dispatch event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/030); cases with it: [Cessna P210N, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/030/sequence.md?model=2073454), [All aircraft, 355 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/030/sequence.md) - [Approach-VFR pattern final: Fuel related](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna P210N, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190/sequence.md?model=2073454), [All aircraft, 361 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190/sequence.md) - [Landing: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Cessna P210N, 16 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=2073454), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Cessna P210N, 31 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=2073454), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot fueled the airplane prior to departure and sumped the fuel tanks. He noted debris in the right fuel tank sample but continued to sump the tank until the fuel did not contain any debris. The flight was unremarkable, but on final approach to the runway, the engine lost total power, and the pilot was unable to restart it. He performed a forced landing to a field, and the airplane struck trees before it impacted the ground. A postimpact fire ensued and the airplane was destroyed. Examination of the engine revealed that the throttle body fuel inlet screen was blocked by debris. The pilot reported that he had noted debris in the fuel sumped from the right wing on previous occasions. The mechanic who performed the most recent maintenance on the engine noted that the pilot never mentioned the debris in the right fuel tank until after the accident. The debris was examined by the NTSB Materials Laboratory and was found to be a strong match for polyethylene terephthalate, which is commonly found in fuel system components. The fueling records from the fixed based operator were examined, no anomalies were noted, and no other fueling issues were noted with other aircraft that fueled from the same equipment/tanks. Therefore, it is likely that the debris came from the fuel system inside the airplane. The component origin of the debris from within the fuel system could not be determined. The engine and fuel system were last overhauled about 8 flight hours before the accident flight, which included installing an overhauled throttle control/throttle body. It’s likely that the debris in the fuel system built up over the 8 hours since overhaul and blocked the fuel inlet screen, which led to a total loss of engine power. The pilot’s failure to report debris in the fuel system during previous preflight inspections to maintenance personnel prevented an opportunity to discover the debris in the fuel system prior to the accident flight. ## Factual narrative On August 7, 2020, about 1036 eastern daylight time, a Cessna P210N, N6300W, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Allendale, South Carolina. The pilot and passenger were seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, he departed Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV), Gainesville, Florida, around 0830 with an intended destination of Allendale County Airport (AQX), Allendale, South Carolina. Prior to departure, he fueled the airplane with 58 gallons of fuel. During the preflight, he noted “a flake or two of black gunk” when he sumped the right-wing fuel tank but he continued sumping the fuel tank until the fuel was clean. The flight was unremarkable, but, when the airplane was on short final approach to runway 35 at AQX, the engine experienced a total loss of power. The propeller continued to rotate, and the pilot attempted to restart the engine by switching the selected fuel tank but was unsuccessful. The pilot realized that the airplane was not able to reach the runway and he attempted to perform a forced landing to a field. During the forced landing, the airplane struck trees and impacted the ground. After impact, the pilot and passenger egressed, and a postimpact fire ensued. The engine was examined by an NTSB investigator who was able to rotate the propeller through 360° of motion and confirmed crankshaft and valvetrain continuity. Compression was obtained on all cylinders, the top spark plugs were removed, and all exhibited normal wear when compared to the Champion-Check-A-Plug Chart. The magnetos were removed, disassembled, and the internal components were melted. Examination of the oil sump and oil sump pick up screen did not reveal any metallic particles. Examination of the turbocharger revealed that it turned freely, and no anomalies were noted. The engine driven fuel pump was removed and exhibited thermal damage. The fuel inlet screen to the throttle body was removed and was occluded with debris. The fuel manifold was removed and disassembled with no anomalies noted. The fuel injectors were removed from the cylinders and Nos. 3 and 5 had blockages noted. The fixed-base operator (FBO) where the airplane refueled noted that there had been 58 separate fueling events, and 1,759.58 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel distributed from the facility without any reported fuel issues in other aircraft. The engine was installed on the airframe about 8 flight hours prior to the accident. An overhaul was completed on May 14, 2020, after a bird strike that occurred in December 2019. At the time of the engine overhaul, the fuel system was overhauled as well, which included installing an overhauled throttle control/throttle body. After the engine was overhauled, an engine test run was performed at multiple different RPM settings prior to it being installed on the airplane. There were no anomalies noted with the engine test, all components were operatingwithin specified limits, and the engine was approved for return to service. The pilot was interviewed after the engine exam and stated that the right wing had a “little bit of black junk” in the fuel when it was sumped “from time to time.” Furthermore, the mechanic that performed the most recent engine maintenance stated that he did not note any issues with the engine when it was installed on the airplane. In addition, he stated that the pilot did not mention the issue with draining contaminates out of the right fuel tank until after the accident, otherwise “we could have looked into it.” The throttle body fuel inlet screen and the debris were sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory for further examination. The material was examined using a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer with a diamond attenuated total reflectance accessory in accordance with American Society for Testing Materials E1252-98: Standard Practice for General Techniques for Obtaining Infrared Spectra for Qualitative Analysis. The results from the FTIR spectrometer test were used to search the spectral library for similar results. The spectral search found a very strong match for polyethylene terephthalate (PET). PET is a thermoplastic polymer of the polyester family, which is commonly found in fuel system components. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6300W](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6300W-2020-09-28), registration cancelled 2020-09-28, S/N P21000744, built 1981 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna P210 (N) - Registry model: [Cessna P210N](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-p210n) (registry code 2073454) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental TSIO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-series) (registry code 17040, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: P21000744 - Year built: 1981 - Airframe hours: 5719 - Engines: Contienental Motors Inc. TSIO-520-P 310 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: N206dj, LLC - Registered owner: N206dj, LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 3, 2020 - Departed: GNV, Gainesville, FL - Destination: AQX, Allendale, SC - Airport: AQX, Allendale County, runway 35, 4,990 × 75 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, Onboard weather, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 65; injuries: serious; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 1,552 total, 28 in this make and model, 1,552 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 84 °F, dew point 75 °F - Altimeter: 30.09 inHg - Observed at: AQX, 1 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20200807013509A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200807013509A), Aug 7, 2020: Cessna P210N, Allendale, SC, Destroyed. N6300W was on short final to runway 35 at Allendale airport (aqx). Approximately 1/2 mile from the airport the aircraft lost power. The aircraft impacted… ## Other investigations on N6300W (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 ERA20CA058](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA20CA058), Dec 21, 2019: Cessna P210 (N6300W), Gainesville, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The airplane's impact by a bird during the initial climb. ## Docket (12 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 26, 2022, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101755. 20.2 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 6 pages, 920 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12241311&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=LA278%206120_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Pilot interview summary (item 2, PDF, 4 pages, 133 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12241390&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Memorandum%20Of%20Record%20Color%20Pilot%20LA278-Rel.pdf - Wreckage examination summary (item 3, PDF, 2 pages, 112 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12270593&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Memorandum%20Of%20Record%20engine%20examination%20N6300W-Rel.pdf - Maintenance record excerpts (item 4, PDF, 9 pages, 7.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12271626&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Mainteance%20Records%20LA278_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Gainesville fuel quality assurance record and fuel purchases from pilot (item 5, PDF, 4 pages, 3.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12372133&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=GAA%20Self%20Fueler%20QA%20log%20%20purchases_Redacted-Rel.pdf - NTSB examination of debris in fuel screen (item 6, PDF, 1 page, 209 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12271636&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Memorandum%20Of%20Record%20Color%20LA278%20NTSB%20Mat%20Lab%20Memo-Rel.pdf - Mechanic interview summary (item 7, PDF, 1 page, 222 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12270869&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Memorandum%20Of%20Record%20Color%20LA278%20Mechanic-Rel.pdf - Statement of party representatives to NTSB investigation (item 8, PDF, 9 pages, 3.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12271410&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Party%20Form%20Signed%20Textron%20LA278_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Release of aircraft wreckage, NTSB form 6120.15 (item 9, PDF, 1 page, 93 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12271908&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Signed%20Release%20N6300W_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Engine overhaul paperwork (item 10, PDF, 3 pages, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12273035&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Engine%20Overhaul%20Paperwork_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigative photographs (item 11, PDF, 4 pages, 4 photos, 2.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12290840&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photo%20Array%20LA278-Rel.pdf - Evidence control form (item 12, PDF, 1 page, 140 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12328103&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Evidence-Control-Form%20LA278-Rel.pdf 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.