LAX94LA112

The pilot and passenger took off, climbed to 11,000 feet, and proceeded toward their destination. After flying for about 33 minutes, the pilot reported to the radar controller that the engine was rough. When the engine began losing power, the pilot initiated a precautionary landing. The pilot elected to land in a field and collided with a wood pile. An examination of the airplane revealed no fuel in the left wing tank; however, fuel was observed leaking from the impact damaged right wing. The fuel selector was found positioned to the left tank. No mechanical malfunctions were found during the examination of the airframe, and the engine was successfully test run.

History of flight

On February 4, 1994, at 0655 Pacific standard time, a Cessna T210L, N93159, owned and operated by the pilot, experienced a partial loss of engine power while cruising en route to San Francisco, California. The pilot made a gear-up forced landing in an open field and came to rest upon colliding with a wood pile about 1/2-mile from the Arcata/Eureka Airport, Arcata, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed during the nighttime personal flight, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged, and the private pilot and passenger were seriously injured. The flight originated from Crescent City, California, at an estimated time of 0615.

About 7 minutes before the crash, at 0647:48, while cruising at 11,000 feet, the pilot had reported to the Seattle Air Route Traffic Control Center that "...we're having a rough engine here...." The airplane was identified on radar, and at 0648:41, it was about 7 miles from the airport. At 0649:19, the pilot reported observing the airport.

The pilot initiated an approach, and at 0654:07 reported "we're a little bit short of this runway...i'm a little bit worried about this at the present time uh we're descending through sixteen hundred and i'm uh two miles out." Seconds later, the pilot reported that "...i guess we may decide to put this down uh on this uh bulb farm...." The manager at the Arcata Flight Service Station reported his review of the audio tape revealed the sound of an "audible pop" noise at 0655.

Tests and research

According to personnel from the responding fire department, fuel was observed leaking from the airplane's broken right wing. No fuel was observed leaking from the left wing.

During the examination of the airframe, the cockpit fuel tank selector control was found set to the left tank. Because of impact damage, the selector's position could not be changed.

The fuel supply line from the left wing tank to the firewall line was pressure tested and was found intact. Because of damage to the right wing, its fuel supply line could not be tested.

The 2.5 cups of fuel found in the left header tank appeared cloudy. The 4 cups of fuel found in the right header tank appeared clear. Samples of the fuel both tanks were laboratory tested. On May 11, 1994, the laboratory's representative verbally reported that nothing abnormal was found regarding the samples' volatility when compared to a specimen of known good fuel.

The engine was examined in a static state, and then it was shipped to the Continental Motors factory where a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) representative supervised its run in a test cell. According to the FAA, during the test the engine start up was immediate. The engine performed normally at idle and during power applications. The engine operated "without any problems" during the 10-minute-long test run.