N9791X

On December 19, 2000, at 1500 eastern standard time, a Cessna 210C, N9791X, was substantially damaged during a forced landing after initial climbout when the airplane lost engine power and an emergency landing was attempted. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight had departed Eagle Creek Airport (EYE), Indianapolis, Indiana, with Mount Pleasant, Indiana, as the final destination. The airplane reached an altitude of about 1,000 feet above ground level (agl) when the engine lost power. The pilot executed a forced landing to a rough field with the landing gear in the up position. The private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.

The pilot reported he had departed from Livingston County Airport (OZW), Howell, Michigan, at approximately 1330, and flew for approximately 1.5 hours before landing at EYE. He reported he had the right fuel tank selected during the flight, but switched to the left tank for the approach into EYE. About 10 minutes after shutdown, the pilot returned to the airplane for departure. He reported the start-up and run-up were normal. The fuel selector was on the left tank for departure. He reported the engine started to sputter and lose power at about 1,000 feet agl. The engine continued to sputter all the way to ground impact. He reported, "All controls were checked to be full forward, booster pumps Hi & lo were actuated, no response, turned 90 [degrees] to left to find airport, still no recovery, switched to right fuel tank, no response, looked for place to land and flew plane until impact with ground. Did not deploy gear because of terrain and needed maximum glide."

The pilot reported he had last topped off the fuel tanks on November 20, 2000, about a month before the accident. He had not flown the airplane since then and the airplane had been sitting on the ramp. He reported the fuel caps were flush mounted, and that he had no problem with water contamination. He checked the fuel tanks for water contamination during preflight. The fuel tanks were bladder type construction.

A Federal Aviation Administration Airworthiness Inspector reported that he observed the airplane at the accident site approximately 30 minutes after the occurrence. He reported that the only sign of fuel leakage was from the fuel vent on the left wing, and it had been plugged up to stop more fuel from leaking from the wing. He reported there was no sign of blue fuel leaking in the snow near the nose gear or the right wing. He reported that he tried to open the left and right fuel caps, but a ring of solid ice around the fuel caps precluded him from getting them off. He reported the fuel tank selector was selected to the right fuel tank. He reported the gascolator located in the nose gear wheel well was broken.

The inspector reported he examined the airplane in a heated hangar. He reported he removed all six top sparkplugs and they were black in color and dry. The fuel distributor was disassembled and a small amount of fuel was found inside. Fuel was found in the fuel line leading to the fuel distributor. The engine driven fuel pump drive was found intact. The right fuel tank indicated empty on the aircraft fuel gage and the right fuel tank was visually verified to be empty. The left fuel tank indicated full on the aircraft fuel gage and was visually verified full or nearly full. The first fuel sample from the left wing had a small amount of water in it, but subsequent fuel samples did not. The engine controls were checked for proper operation and all worked properly.

The emergency procedure for Fuel System - Emergency Operation in the Pilot Operating Handbook was:

"The quickest recovery of fuel flow to the engine can be accomplished in the following manner:

(1) Level the aircraft.

(2) Push the mixture control to full rich.

(3) Push the throttle full forward.

(4) Turn the auxiliary fuel pump switch to "HI."

Engine operation should resume within six seconds if this procedure is executed promptly."