At 10:16 PST, a Cessna 182Q crashed during takeoff from Fallbrook Community Airpark. The pilot was killed and the passenger was seriously injured. A witness said the pilot taxied from his hangar to the departure end of runway 18 and did not perform a pretakeoff engine run-up or cycle the propeller. The airplane took off and climbed to about 300 feet, at which point the engine quit. The aircraft cleared utility lines that ran along the airport boundary then pitched forward, impacting the ground in a nose-low attitude. Investigators found the fuel selector handle slightly displaced from the both position and the fuel boost pump switch in the off position. Fuel was found in the line immediately upstream of the boost pump, however, no fuel was found in the downstream line immediately after the pump. The first witness, who was also an acquaintance of the pilot, said that the pilot was in the habit of turning the fuel selector to the off position when the aircraft was in the hangar. The pilots biennial flight review was four months overdue.
March 11, Fallbrook, Calif. / Cessna 182
At 10:16 PST, a Cessna 182Q crashed during takeoff from Fallbrook Community Airpark. The pilot was killed and the passenger was seriously injured. A witness said the pilot taxied from his hangar to the departure end of runway 18 and did not perform a pretakeoff engine run-up or cycle the propeller. The airplane took off and climbed to about 300 feet, at which point the engine quit. The aircraft cleared utility lines that ran along the airport boundary then pitched forward, impacting the ground in a nose-low attitude. Investigators found the fuel selector handle slightly displaced from the both position and the fuel boost pump switch in the off position. Fuel was found in the line immediate...
Key Takeaways:
- A Cessna 182Q crashed during takeoff, killing the pilot and seriously injuring the passenger, after its engine quit at approximately 300 feet.
- Investigators determined the fuel selector was slightly displaced and the fuel boost pump switch was in the off position, leading to a lack of fuel flow to the engine.
- A witness observed the pilot omitted pre-takeoff engine checks, and it was noted the pilot habitually turned off the fuel selector in the hangar and had an overdue biennial flight review.
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