At about 16:45 mountain time, a Cessna T210N lost engine power shortly after takeoff and was damaged during a forced landing at Colorado City. The four occupants suffered minor injuries. The pilot, who is also a maintenance technician, had just completed an annual inspection and installed an overhauled engine in the airplane. The pilot said he had flown the airplane three times for a total of about 2.5 hours. During takeoff and initial climb, the engine lost power at 400 to 500 feet agl. The pilot performed a 180-degree turn back to the airport but was unable to reach the runway and collided with rocky terrain. The pilot said he visually checked both fuel tanks during the preflight, observing about 1 inch in the left tank and about 1.5 in the right. After the accident the fuel selector was on the left tank and the left tank was empty.
Dec. 26, Colorado City, Ariz. / Cessna Centurion
At about 16:45 mountain time, a Cessna T210N lost engine power shortly after takeoff and was damaged during a forced landing at Colorado City. The four occupants suffered minor injuries. The pilot, who is also a maintenance technician, had just completed an annual inspection and installed an overhauled engine in the airplane. The pilot said he had flown the airplane three times for a total of about 2.5 hours. During takeoff and initial climb, the engine lost power at 400 to 500 feet agl. The pilot performed a 180-degree turn back to the airport but was unable to reach the runway and collided with rocky terrain. The pilot said he visually checked both fuel tanks during the preflight, observin...
Key Takeaways:
- A Cessna T210N experienced engine power loss shortly after takeoff, leading to a forced landing in rocky terrain, substantial aircraft damage, and minor injuries to all four occupants.
- The accident occurred after the pilot, who is also a maintenance technician, had recently completed an annual inspection and installed an overhauled engine.
- Post-accident inspection revealed the fuel selector was on the empty left tank, despite the pilot having visually checked low but present fuel in both tanks during preflight, indicating fuel starvation as the probable cause.
Key takeaways sponsored by Aviator Pro | Start Your Training ->
See a mistake? Contact us.
