N76GH

On May 31, 1994, about 1215 eastern daylight time, N76GH, a Cessna 210L registered to Mercy Flight Inc., crashed in Pahokee, Florida, while on a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot and an observer reported no injuries. The flight had originated about 1 hour earlier.

The pilot stated that the engine failed about 1,500 feet msl and his attempt to restart it was unsuccessful. He then ditched the airplane in Lake Okeechobee about 1/2 mile from the Pahokee Airport, Pahokee, Florida.

The airplane fuel system was examined after recovery and the right tank contained no fuel and was full of water, and the left tank contained about 18 gallons of fuel and the rest was water. The fuel selector was found on the left tank position. The airplane was taken to a local airport, water was drained from the engine and the magnetos and sparkplugs were air dried. A 5-gallon fuel can was mounted on the roof of the cabin and was connected to both fuel lines from the wing. The engine was started and ran on both the left and right fuel selector positions.