104 SA FlyerS
YNOPSIS
The pilot was carrying out parachute
dropping operations at Citrusdal in the Western
Cape. Having completed a number of parachute
drops, the aircraft was refuelled (100 litres of fuel
was uplifted) and inspected before departing
for a further two drops. During the start-up,
the aircraft’s engine cut out a number of times
due to fuel flow surges. A characteristic of fuel
injected engines during hot starts. During the power check the pilot
noticed that the fuel flow had stabilised and therefore carried on with
his normal pre-take-off procedures.
After completing his pre-take-off checks, the pilot commenced
the take-off and confirmed that the engine instruments indicated
normal manifold pressure, RPM and fuel flow. Shortly after lift-off,
the pilot noticed that the fuel flow had dropped by approximately 3
USG/hr and decided to land back on the remaining runway. During
the aborted take-off the aircraft’s right hand brake line was torn from
the calliper by rough ground, causing the right hand brake to fail and
the aircraft to veer to the left.
The pilot managed to stop the aircraft before the perimeter fence
by applying full right rudder and left brake. After coming to a stop
and whilst allowing the turbo-charger to run down, the pilot noticed
that grass around the left wheel was burning. He immediately shut
down the engine and evacuated the aircraft.
The pilot and passengers attempted to extinguish the fire around
the aircraft’s main wheels with the aircraft fire extinguisher, however,
it became exhausted and the fire spread around the aircraft. A
number of people from the drop zone arrived with fire extinguishers
and were able to extinguish the fire.PROBABLE CAUSE
The pilot unnecessarily aborted the take-off due to a perceived
fuel flow problem, as there was no indication of a loss of engine
power. He allowed the aircraft to veer off the runway to the left.
When he noticed the grass burning around the left main wheel he
shut the engine down instead of taxiing away from the fire. The
overheated brakes and tyres caused the dry grass to catch fire.JIM’S ANALYSIS
Right, straight into my usual question: Could anyone have seen
this coming? Actually I don’t think so. The reason I am hesitant is
that I don’t know whether this particular aircraft was in the habit of
cutting out after a hot start. Some do and some don’t.
If it was unusual for this aircraft, then I don’t blame the pilot for
being nervous about erratic fuel flow. This is the number-one most
important instrument during take-off, and I always watch it like a
hawk until I am at a safe altitude. Any fluctuation or abnormality in
fuel flow during take-off can herald a cut at any moment.
This being so, I can’t agree with the CAA’s criticism of the pilotwhen they say he “... unnecessarily aborted the take-off due to a
perceived fuel-flow problem”. I would say that if the flow dropped by
3 USG/hr, that is a very real fuel-flow problem, which could easily
have been a warning of an imminent engine failure. I think, in the
circumstances, I would also have aborted the take-off.
Now we come to a very interesting thing called Post-Event
Euphoria (PEE, maybe that is appropriate). It is about relaxing – and
often doing something stupid when the adrenalin event is over. I
suspect that’s what happened to this poor guy.POST-EVENT
Euphoria
SOUTH AFRICAN CIVIL
AVIATION AUTHORITY
ACCIDENT REPORT –
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Date of Accident: 17 February 2002
Time of Accident: 11:30Z
Aircraft Registration: ZS-ASC
Type of Aircraft: Cessna T 207
Last point of departure: Citrusdal Aerodrome
Next point of intended landing: Citrusdal
Aerodrome
Location of the accident site: Citrusdal
Aerodrome
Meteorological Information: Fine Wind 170° / 5
kt, Temperature +31°C, Visibility - Good
Number of people on board: 1+6
No. of people injured: 0
No. of people killed: 0
PILOT-IN-COMMAND
Licence type: Private
Licence Valid: Yes
Age: 44
Total Flying Hours: 2731
Hours on Type: 67ACCIDENT REPORT - JIM DAVIS