NTSB Report on recent crash at W18 (Suburban).

wsuffa

wsuffa

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Bill S.
Check for obstructions & bird nests, folks!

http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20130718X44907&key=1

Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact malfunctions of the airplane or flight controls. Further examination of the wreckage however revealed that a red piece of cloth was visible inside the right cowling inlet. Further examination of the cloth revealed that it was the cloth jacketing from a foam filled cowl plug and that it along with the foam insert were protruding from, and blocking, the engine air intake. The engine compartment also contained the remains of bird's nests, and bird excrement, and during examination of the carburetor it was discovered that the venturi of the carburetor contained a golf ball sized wasp's nest that was partially blocking the carburetor air inlet.
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I wonder just how long this plane had been sitting. That reports includes these facts too:

His most recent application for a FAA third-class medical certificate was dated July 19, 2006​

and then

The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on January 5, 1998.​
 
Well....it seems pretty obvious to me....he didn't want to pre-flight the engine compartment and pull that crap out because of all them wasps in there!

I'm okay with that....'ceptin' I would have walked away from the airplane rather than get it and start 'er up.
 
Took him a year to deliver the plane?

According to the pilot the purpose of the flight was to deliver the airplane to its new owner who had purchased the airplane from him in September of 2012.
 
It says he did a 15 minute runup. Maybe he should have done a 15 minute pre-flight.
 
Just read the whole report.....what an idiot. Hope the 'new owner' had it insured. Although if the plane was insured the insurance company's lawyers are going to have a field day recouping on this one.
 
I heard this plane was headed to my home airport (kthv). At least no one got killed in this one.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
 
I'm guessing there was no preflight, not even a "kick the tire", just go!

Not the first person to forget to remove the cowl plugs.
 
BillTIZ said:
I'm guessing there was no preflight.
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I'm going out on a limb and suggest that the kind of pilot who flies an airplane 15 years out of annual without a current medical probably doesn't believe in preflights.
 
I don't understand why wasps like the intake & carburator area so much. I mean, thats right next to GAS that I've had great success killing them with!

At any rate, I've heard of this before on an old O300 powered 172 out of Y03. :hairraise:
 
bnt83 said:
I don't understand why wasps like the intake & carburator area so much. I mean, thats right next to GAS that I've had great success killing them with!

At any rate, I've heard of this before on an old O300 powered 172 out of Y03. :hairraise:
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Bet they're gone now!
 
wsuffa said:
W18 is in the DC SFRA. May be that an SFRA plan was filed, but not a SAR plan.
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Yeah, cuz I'm sure a guy flying a plane in this condition would be aware of them SFRA thingies ... :rolleyes:
 
JoeSelch said:
Yeah, cuz I'm sure a guy flying a plane in this condition would be aware of them SFRA thingies ... :rolleyes:
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Well, yeah he probably was aware of it, if he's flown even once since 2001. It's not like flying without an annual or a medical where you can get away with it for a while.

I'm trying to figure out if he did the buyer a favor by wrecking this accident-waiting-to-happen on the way up there, rather than taking the buyer for a test flight and killing them both. Maybe the buyer was going to have it annualed before he got in it, but then again, he was apparently willing to let the seller deliver it out-of-annual so who knows.
 
dukeblue219 said:
Well, yeah he probably was aware of it, if he's flown even once since 2001. It's not like flying without an annual or a medical where you can get away with it for a while.

I'm trying to figure out if he did the buyer a favor by wrecking this accident-waiting-to-happen on the way up there, rather than taking the buyer for a test flight and killing them both. Maybe the buyer was going to have it annualed before he got in it, but then again, he was apparently willing to let the seller deliver it out-of-annual so who knows.
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To me, it sounds like two bottom feeders doing business with each other. I mean, who bothers with an airplane that's 15 years out of annual unless they're buying it for scrap? I doubt there was any insurance on the bird by either party.
 
bnt83 said:
I don't understand why wasps like the intake & carburator area so much. I mean, thats right next to GAS that I've had great success killing them with! :hairraise:
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I guess there hadn't been any fresh gas near that carb in quite awhile. ;)

I helped an AP, over the course of a week or two, remove pounds of mud dubber nests from a C172. Given that each cell is the size and weight of a quarter, it was like doing an archaeological dig. It would have been less frightening if we had pulled an intact mummy out the wing. :yikes:

It had been hangared for close to 10 years. The owner was pressuring the mechanic to 'just do the mininum' so he could take it up and see what he wanted to do with it.

Die perhaps?
 
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