NTSB BFO93LA078 — 1993-05-09 · FREDERICK, Maryland, United States

Aircraft involved

N28681 de Havilland DH-82A None

Probable cause & findings

INADEQUATE PREFLIGHT BY THE PILOT AND FUEL CONTAMINATION, WHICH RESULTED IN LOSS OF ENGINE POWER.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT BOTH THE PREFLIGHT AND RUN UP INSPECTIONS WERE ACCOMPLISHED SUCCESSFULLY. DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB AT ABOUT 900 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND, THE ENGINE LOST POWER. HE REVERSED DIRECTION TO RETURN TO THE AIRPORT, BUT DECIDED TO LAND IN A FIELD. DURING THE FORCED LANDING THE AIRPLANE STRUCK A TREE AND THE AIRPLANE FELL TO THE GROUND. EXAMINATION OF THE FUEL SYSTEM BY THE FAA REVEALED CONTAMINANTS CONSISTING OF DIRT AND WATER IN BOTH THE FUEL TANK AND GASCOLATOR. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THERE WAS NO MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION AND THE ACCIDENT COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED IF THE CROSSWIND TURN WAS MADE SOONER, AND THE FUEL TANKS WERE COMPLETELY DRAINED PERIODICALLY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1993_BFO93LA078.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel contamination). All research papers

NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper Combined Contamination and Space Environmental Effects on Solar Cells and Thermal Control Surfaces

For spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO), contamination can occur from thruster fuel, sputter contamination products and from products of silicone degradation.