NTSB Report, Harrison Ford's Plane Crash
Was Due To Carburetor Malfunction
August 6, 2015- NTSB today
released a report that indicated that the
probable cause that led to Harrison Ford's
emergency crash landing of a Ryan PT-22 (N53178)
back on March 5th in Santa Monica, CA was due to
a carburetor malfunction.
Just after departure from Santa Monica Municipal
Airport, Harrison Ford began to loose engine
power. Ford contacted air traffic control to
report engine problems and was cleared back to
the airport.
Due to a rapid loss of altitude the Ryan ST-3KR
aircraft clipped trees and then crashed landed
at the Penmar Golf Course in the Venice
neighborhood of Los Angeles.
The NTSB
report indicated, a post accident examination of
the airplane's engine revealed that the
carburetor's main metering jet was unscrewed
from its seat and rotated 90 degrees. The
unseated jet would have allowed an increased
fuel flow through the main metering orifice,
producing an extremely rich fuel-to-air ratio,
which would have resulted in the loss of engine
power.
It is likely that, over time, the jet gradually
loosened from its seat, which allowed it to
eventually rotate 90 degrees. No further
mechanical failures or malfunctions were
revealed that would have precluded normal
operation.
A review of the airplane's maintenance records
indicated that the carburetor was rebuilt during
the airplane's restoration about 17 years before
the accident. The carburetor maintenance
instruction manual contained no pertinent
instructions for the installation of the jet
assemblies.
Further, no maintenance entries in the engine
logbook regarding carburetor maintenance were
found. Had the carburetor maintenance
instruction manual identified a means to ensure
the security of the main metering jet, it is
unlikely that the jet would have become
unseated. There was no record of maintenance
personnel inspecting the carburetor jets during
the previous 17 years nor was there a
requirement to do so.
The front and rear seats of the airplane
were equipped with non-factory-installed shoulder
harnesses. The pilot's shoulder harness was installed by
mounting the end of the restraint to the lower portion
of the seatback assembly, which was made of thin
aluminum. No reinforcement material or doublers were
installed at or around the attachment bolt hole in the
seatback.
The lack of reinforcement allowed the attachment bolt,
washers, and stop nut to be pulled upward and through
the seatback structure during the impact sequence, which
resulted in the pilot's loss of shoulder harness
restraint. It is likely that the improperly installed
shoulder harness contributed to the severity of the
pilot's injuries. As a result of this investigation, the
NTSB is working with the pilot community to inform them
of the lessons learned from this accident: the security
of the carburetor's main metering jet and the security
of the shoulder harness are both critical aspects of
aviation safety.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the
probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: A total
loss of engine power during initial climb when the
carburetor main metering jet became unseated, which led
to an extremely rich fuel-to-air ratio. Contributing to
the accident was the lack of adequate carburetor
maintenance instructions. Contributing to the severity
of the pilot's injuries was the improperly installed
shoulder harness (See Full Report).
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