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ATL87LA066

1987-01-26 · SAVANNAH, Georgia, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

N10MM has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (CANADAIR LTD CL-600-2B16, built 1988), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE PILOT WAS FLYING A DONATED AIRCRAFT IN SUPPORT OF A PROGRAM TO DOCUMENT THE ACTIVITIES OF WRIGHT WHALES OFF THE COAST OF THE CAROLINA'S AND GEORGIA. THE PLT HAD BEEN WITH THE OWNER ON A PREVIOUS FLT, WHEN PROBLEMS DEVELOPED WHILE SWITCHING TO/AND/OR FROM THE AUX FUEL TANKS TO THE MAIN FUEL TANKS. THERE WAS NO DOCUMENTED REPAIR OR TROUBLE SHOOTING CONDUCTED BEFORE THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT. ON THIS FLIGHT THE PILOT TOOK OFF WITH FUEL IN THE AUX TANKS AND SWITCHED TO THE AUX TANKS WHILE ABOUT 20 MILES OFF SHORE AND FLEW SEVERAL LEGS OF THE SEARCH PATTERN. THE ENG QUIT. HE STARTED TOWARD THE SHORE AND THEN SWITCHED THE FRONT ENG TO THE MAIN FUEL TANK, IT QUIT ALSO. THE ACFT WAS DITCHED IN THE OCEAN AND SANK ABOUT TWO MINUTES AFTER IMPACT. IT WAS NOT RECOVERED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_ATL87LA066.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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