NTSB MIA89FA124 — 1989-04-08 · TAMPA, Florida, United States

N711BF has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (SIKORSKY UH-60L, built 1987), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

N711BF Beech C-45H Serious

Probable cause & findings

FUEL CONTAMINATION OF THE LEFT ENGINE FUEL SYSTEM WHICH RESULTING IN A FAILURE OF THE LEFT ENGINE.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT OF THE TURBINE POWERED C45-H EXPERIENCED A FAILURE OF THE LEFT ENGINE DUE TO FUEL CONTAMINATION AFTER TAKEOFF. HE THEN EXECUTED A FORCED LANDING OFF THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY WITH THE RIGHT ENGINE STILL DEVELOPING POWER, AS DEMONSTRATED BY PROP SIGNATURES AND DAMAGE DURING GRND CONTACT. POST ACC FUEL ANALYSIS SHOWED SAND AND FIBER CONTAMINATION. THE PLT HAD JUST REFUELED BUT THE SOURCE OF THE CONTAMINATION WAS NOT DETERMINED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_MIA89FA124.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

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.