N887MJTextron Aviation G36 · 2016

On July 30, 2022, about 1409 eastern daylight time, a Textron Aviation Inc G36 airplane, N887MJ, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Ridgeland, South Carolina. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot stated that he departed Buckingham Field (FL59), Fort Myers, Florida, about 1145, and was destined for Columbia Metro Airport (CAE), Columbia, South Carolina. He departed with 62 gallons of fuel “evenly balanced between the wings.” The pilot’s intended route of flight was direct to Jacksonville, Florida, then north up the coast and direct to CAE. He estimated the flight would require about 44.3 gallons of fuel.

The pilot reported that while en route between Jacksonville and Savannah, Georgia, at an altitude of about 9,500 ft mean sea level (msl), he decided to land at the Hampton County Airport (3J0), Hampton, South Carolina, “to complete an approach and to top off the tanks with self-serve fuel” so he would not have to get fuel at CAE.

The pilot was cleared by air traffic control to 3JO and directed to start a descent. He said that as he descended through 6,000 ft msl there was a “distinct change from the normal sounds of the engine and a slight additional and uncharacteristic engine vibration.” The pilot reported that the propeller continued to rotate “but there was no responsive propulsion from the engine controls.” He immediately disengaged the autopilot and adjusted the throttle and mixture, but when he moved the throttle there was no increase or decrease in engine noise, although the engine was still operating.

The pilot reported that he then focused on finding a place to land. He identified a field and saw the canopy of a tree line that he would have to clear. When he realized that he would not clear the trees, he initiated a slip and the right wing impacted the trees, separating it from the airplane. The airplane spun to the left and impacted the ground. The pilot reported, “Realizing I was hurt, but seeing the left wing still attached to the airplane my concern was a post-crash fire. I unbuckled my safety belt and crawled to the co-pilot door to exit the aircraft.”

A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the fuselage, both wings, and the tail section. There was no postimpact fire.

Several breaks were observed to the flight control cables, but the fractured ends were consistent with either overload from impact or with manually being cut when the airplane was recovered. The outboard section of the left wing had separated from the airplane during the impact sequence and the right wing had separated about 2-3 ft outboard of the wing root. About 8 gallons of fuel were recovered from the left-wing fuel tank and no fuel was recovered from the right tank, which was breached from impact. Both wing fuel tank finger screens were absent of debris and both fuel caps were secured to their respective wing. The fuel selector handle and valve were found in the right-wing tank position and a small amount of fuel was found in the valve. About a ½ teaspoon of water was also observed. The filter was removed and no debris was observed.

The engine and the three-bladed propeller remained attached to the airframe. The engine sustained impact damage and all of the accessories remained secure to the engine. The main fuel line from the airframe to the engine-driven fuel pump was separated from impact. The pump was removed and a small amount of fuel was noted in the pump. The coupling was intact.

The examination of the fuel manifold revealed that the diaphragm and screen were intact and absent of debris. All six of the fuel injectors were removed and were clear except for the No. 5 injector, which exhibited some sediment.

The top spark plugs were removed and the engine was rotated via manual rotation of the propeller. Compression and valvetrain continuity were established for each cylinder. Spark was also produced to all ignition leads except for the No. 5 cylinder due to impact damage of the ignition harness. The spark plugs appeared gray in color, consistent with normal operation per the Champion Check-A-Plug chart.

Postaccident examination of the engine and airplane revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the engine or airplane.

The airplane was equipped with a Garmin GDU-1040 display, which is part of a Garmin G1000 Integrated Flight Deck. A typical installation includes a primary flight display (PFD) and a multi-function display (MFD). Each display includes two SD card slots, an upper and a lower slot. The cards were removed and sent to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recorder lab to be downloaded and analyzed.

The accident flight data was recovered and showed that the airplane departed FL59 about 1143. The airplane climbed to 9,500 ft msl and took a northerly ground track for the next 2 hours and 15 minutes. About 1357, the airplane began a descent about 3 nautical miles southeast of KSAV. The fuel quantity indicating system showed about 18 gallons in the left tank and 20 gallons in the right tank. Fuel flow was stable around 11 gph. The engine and electrical systems were operating normally.

At 1403:07, as the airplane descended to 6,500 ft msl, fuel flow and manifold pressure showed a slight decrease. At 1403:55, fuel flow showed a rapid and short increase, while the engine gas temperature (EGT) on each cylinder began a rapid decrease. Fuel flow values were briefly erratic, but eventually decreased quickly and settled at a value around 1 gph with some occasional spikes. Values for cylinder head temperature (CHT) began to steadily decrease across all cylinders, consistent with a loss of engine power.

Moments later, the data showed the airplane increasing pitch attitude and slowing down to an airspeed between 75 and 85 knots. The airplane retained this speed and descended at a constant rate for the remainder of the flight. About 1408, while descending through 1,700 ft msl, the airplane took a ground track toward Ridgeland-Claude Dean Airport (3J1), Ridgeland, South Carolina, which was about 6 nautical miles east of its position. The airplane descended at a level attitude before the recorded data ended at 1409:25 at an indicated airspeed of 73 knots and altitude of 407 ft msl.

A review of the fuel quantity data from the G1000 data indicated the airplane consumed a total of 14 gallons of fuel for the 2 hour and 26-minute flight, with a fuel consumption rate of 5.3 gph. However, the average fuel consumption rate for the engine is about 15 gph, so the indicated burn rate for the accident flight was likely incorrect.

With the G1000 system the pilot was tasked, per the before-starting-engine checklist, to enter the “fuel remaining” onboard the airplane into the G1000. The pilot had the option to select FULL fuel (74 gallons) or PARTIAL fuel and then use the increase or decrease buttons to adjust the actual gallons remaining.

The airplane was also equipped with a left and right calibrated fuel quantity gauge that had a sensor in each tank. Before the pilot entered the fuel quantity into the G1000, they were first required to visually check the quantity of fuel on board by using the tab that is attached to each filler neck of each individual fuel cell and then compare it with the fuel quantity gauges, which were calibrated.

It was possible for a pilot to bypass entering the fuel quantity into the G1000 before starting the engine since they may use the fuel gauges (and time en route) to determine the total fuel needed for the flight. This may account for the erroneous fuel quantity readings observed in the G1000 data during the accident flight.