Sadly there is a report of another Seabee "down".
At about 0810 eastern standard
time, a Republic RC-3, N451E (MSN 182), was substantially damaged when it was
involved in an accident near Advance, North Carolina. The airline
transport pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a
Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
According to a mechanic who
test flew the airplane the day prior to the accident, he “dipped”
the fuel tanks and the airplane had about 18 gallons of fuel on board
prior to the pilot departing on a 30-45 minute flight that evening. On
the day of the accident the pilot departed on an approximate 30-minute
flight from his home airport with an intended destination of Twin
Lakes Airport (8A7), Mocksville, North Carolina.
According to the mechanic, that
make and model of airplane can burn between 13.5 and 20 gallons of
fuel per hour. He also reported that they had not calibrated the fuel
flow gauge for the airplane prior to the accident flight. Lastly, the
mechanic asked the pilot the night before and the morning of the
accident if there was enough fuel in the airplane, to which the pilot
stated, “it was fine.”
The
airplane came to rest in a field less than 2 miles from the
destination airport. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector
responded to the accident site and examined the airplane. The
examination revealed that the airplane incurred substantial damage to
the wing spar during the accident. The propeller was rotated by hand
and crankshaft continuity was confirmed. In addition, he noted that
there was no fuel in the fuel tanks and about 4 drops of fuel in the
fuel filter. Furthermore, there was no evidence of fuel spillage at
the accident site.
The
airframe and engine were recovered and will be examined. [NTSB
Identification: ERA21LA042].
