Fuel contamination: Grumman GA-7 Cougar, N887CC, fatal accident occurred on February 1, 2024, in Coatesville, Pennsylvania

• Location: Coatesville, Pennsylvania 
• Accident Number: ERA24FA103 
• Date & Time: February 1, 2024, 13:30 Local 
• Registration: N887CC 
• Aircraft: GRUMMAN AMERICAN AVN. CORP. GA-7 
• Aircraft Damage: Substantial 
• Defining Event: Fuel contamination 
• Injuries: 1 Fatal Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Positioning

https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/193736/pdf

https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=193736

On February 1, 2024, about 1330 eastern standard time, a Grumman American Aviation Corporation GA-7, N887CC, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Coatesville, Pennsylvania. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 positioning flight.

The most recent annual inspection was completed about 45 days before the accident. After completion of the annual inspection the airplane was flown to another airport, where it would be the subject of a restoration project and then sold. The airplane then sat outside, and during that period the airport received about 10 inches of precipitation. The purpose of the accident flight was to deliver the airplane to its new owner.

According to company and airport employees, the pilot arrived at the departure airport around 1230 and made it clear that he was “in a hurry,” as he had a return flight booked for 1800 that evening. According to witnesses, the airplane was fueled with 80 gallons of 100LL fuel and the pilot performed a very brief and incomplete preflight inspection, which did not include obtaining fuel samples from either of the airplane’s fuel tanks. During takeoff, the airplane’s engine “popped,” which was followed by sputtering and an aggressive turn to the right (consistent with a Vmc roll), before it disappeared behind the trees.

Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that both fuel tanks were intact and fuel was observed in the tanks. Fuel samples taken from the sump tank, engine-driven fuel pump, and the carburetor bowl on the airplane’s right side all contained water and debris.

The examination also revealed that the right fuel cap was missing its gasket, which was required, and should have been detected during the most recent annual inspection.

- Probable Cause: The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to water-contaminated fuel, and his subsequent loss of control. Contributing to the accident was an inadequate annual maintenance inspection, during which maintenance personnel failed to detect and replace the missing right fuel cap gasket.