Only Minor Injuries In Crash... But The Albatross Is A Mess

An NTSB Preliminary report indicates that the cause behind the downing of a Grumman G-111 Albatross appears to be related to engine failure. The aircraft went down with only a few hours on the engines since a Major Overhaul that had occurred over a year earlier, and was operating under a Special Flight Permit.

NTSB Identification: ERA10LA050
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, November 05, 2009 in Ft Pierce, FL
Aircraft: GRUMMAN AIRCRAFT ENG CORP G-111, registration: N120FB
Injuries: 1 Minor, 2 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On November 5, 2009, about 1534 eastern standard time, a Grumman G-111, N120FB, was substantially damaged during a forced landing while performing an air return to the St. Lucie County International Airport (FPR), Ft. Pierce, FL. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The intended destination for the flight was Okeechobee County Airport (OBE), Okeechobee, FL. The two pilots and one additional crew member received minor injures. The flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

An eyewitness reported seeing the airplane depart from runway 32 and become airborne near the intersection of taxiway "C7." While the witness observed the landing gear begin to retract the left engine began emitting several "loud pops" then white colored smoke began to discharge from the exhaust. The witness reported hearing an increase in engine noise and observed the airplane begin a left turn. The airplane then impacted terrain, went through an airport boundary fence, and came to rest near an airport service road. Upon arrival at the accident location the witness observed fuel coming out of the right wing and assisted the occupants in exiting the airplane.

File Photo

In an interview with the Safety Board the captain reported that while on the runway preparing for takeoff they advanced the power levers to achieve 30 inches of manifold pressure, checked all the engine gauges, then advanced the power levers to 40 inches of manifold pressure, released the brakes, and preformed a normal takeoff. During the initial climb the captain commanded the gear to be retracted, shortly after the gear handle was placed in the "UP" position, he heard a loud "bang followed by three to four smaller bangs." The captain commanded the checklist to be run for an engine failure in flight. The first officer confirmed that the left engine was the affected engine and immediately began feathering the propeller. Once the propeller had been feathered the captain confirmed that by looking outside and noticing the propeller in the feather position. The captain further reported that the right engine was producing the maximum power available and was indicating 55 inches of manifold pressure however the airplane was not able to maintain altitude.

Unable to achieve an airspeed greater than 95 ¬to 96 knots indicated the crew confirmed that the gear and flaps were in the retracted or "UP" position; however the captain could not center the slip/skid indicator completely. During this time the captain attempted to return to the airport for an emergency landing however he was unable to maintain altitude and attempted to land on an airport perimeter road, impacting the airport fence in the process. After the airplane came to a stop the captain shut down the engines, fuel pumps, and other items as required to secure the airplane. As he exited the aircraft he saw fuel coming out of the right wing onto the ground. The airplane had been fueled on October 29, 2009 with 284 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel. The captain further reported that both engines had less than 20 hours since overhaul and that their takeoff weight was approximately 27,000 pounds.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector that responded to the accident scene reported the left engine propeller was in the feathered position, the right engine exhibited little damage, approximately 150 gallons of fuel was removed from the left fuel tanks and fuel samples were taken from both engines. The fuel samples indicated 100LL fuel and contained no water or contaminants present. The right wing tank had been breeched during the accident sequence and there was no fuel present, however an estimated 150 gallons of fuel had spilled on the ground under the right wing. They were unable to verify control continuity due to the damage to the under side of the airplane. The inspector calculated that the maximum allowable takeoff weight was 30,605 pounds.

The captain age 58, held an airline transport pilot certificate, with ratings for multi-engine land and sea, including a type rating for the accident airplane. His most recent FAA first-class medical was issued January 22, 2009. At that time, the pilot reported a total flight time of 9,800 hours of flight experience.

The First Officer age 70, held an airline transport pilot certificate, with ratings for airplane multi-engine land and sea including a type rating for the accident airplane, a commercial pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land and rotorcraft-gyroplane, and a private pilot certificate with a rating for glider. His most recent FAA first-class medical was issued October 6, 2009. At that time, the pilot reported a total flight time of 11,500 hours of flight experience.

The airplane was issued an airworthiness certificate by the FAA on July 21, 1983 and was registered to the owner on October 1, 2007. It was equipped with two Curtiss-Wright engines that had undergone major overhauls on February 29, 2008. An entry dated October 12, 2009 indicated that the airframe had a total time in service of 3,747.1 hours and the engines had 3.1 hours since major overhaul. On November 5, 2009 the airplane was issued a special flight permit to conduct the flight to OBE.

The 1553 reported weather observation at FPR winds from 360 degrees at 9 knots with gusts of 14 knots; visibility 10 miles, broken cloud layer at 4,000 feet above ground level, temperature 25 degrees C, dew point 16 degrees C, altimeter of 30.11 inches of mercury.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20091105X70627&key=1