N131N

On April 8, 2024, at 1410 central daylight time, a Temco D-16A airplane, N131N, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Clarksville, Arkansas. The pilot and three passengers were seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

According to the pilot, he and the passengers departed Springdale Municipal Airport (ASG) in Springdale, Arkansas, and flew to Clarksville Municipal Airport (H35) in Clarksville, Arkansas. After spending a few hours at H35, the pilot and passengers departed H35 to return to ASG. The pilot stated that the takeoff seemed to be normal until they were about 100 ft above the ground. At that time, the airplane began to roll left. The pilot said the left engine stopped and the airplane continued to roll to the left and then impacted trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, empennage, and fuselage.

The airplane fuel system consisted of five fuel tanks: left and right tip tanks, left and right nacelle tanks, and a main fuel tank.

A postaccident examination of the airplane was performed by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector. The examination revealed the left nacelle fuel tank was empty. The left tip tank contained 13 gallons of fuel. The main tank contained 27 gallons of fuel. The right nacelle fuel tank had negligible fuel. The right tip tank was compromised.

The left nacelle fuel tank’s bladder was filled with water to the filler neck and checked for leaks. Only one drip leak (about 1 drip per 10 seconds) was found on one of the bolts that secured an access panel to the fuel tank. The access panel and surrounding area did not exhibit fuel staining or other signs of leakage before the accident. The location of the leak was in the upper portion of the fuel tank, so a leak would only occur if the nacelle was filled to over half its capacity. It could not be determined if the leak was impact related.

The right fuel selector was found set to the right nacelle and the left fuel selector was set to the left nacelle. The crossfeed was selected to the “on” position. The pilot stated that he thought the fuel selector valves were selected to the “main” fuel tank; however, he also stated that it was possible that he had the nacelle fuel tanks selected. The main fuel tank position is 180 degrees from the nacelle tank position.

Fuel was added to the airplane and the left engine was started and ran successfully.