Pilot Debrief

MITSUBISHI MU 300 near Little Rock, AR — 2016-01-12

Final reportCEN16IA091
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Date
2016-01-12
Location
Little Rock, AR, USA
Airport
LIT
Aircraft
MITSUBISHI MU 300
Registration
N200LP
Category
Unknown/Other
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Takeoff roll

Probable cause

The flight crew's inadequate preflight inspection of the airplane, during which they failed to see a fueling mat that had been placed on the inboard trailing edge of the right wing, which the right engine subsequently ingested during the takeoff roll. Contributing to the incident was the airplane fueler's failure to remove the fuel mat after fueling the airplane.

NTSB narrative

The airline transport pilot and the copilot were conducting an on-demand, air taxi flight with two passengers on board. The pilot reported that, during the takeoff roll, he heard a "grumble" and that the airplane began shaking. The passengers reported to the flight crew that they saw flames coming out of the right engine. The flight crew then stopped the airplane on the runway and shut down the engines. Postincident examination of the right engine revealed that it had ingested a fuel mat that airplane fuelers had placed on the inboard trailing edge of the wing during preflight fueling and failed to remove after fueling. The pilots reported that they did not conduct an exterior preflight inspection of the airplane after it was fueled and that, during a subsequent visual inspection of the fuel caps, they did not see the fuel mat because of its location on the right wing. The pilots' inadequate inspection of the airplane after it was fueled led to the right engine ingesting the fuel mat during the takeoff roll.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Flight crew did not notice fuel mats during preflight inspection.

NTSB coding

  • Powerplant sys/comp malf/fail · Takeoff
  • Preflight Inspection

Evidence available

  • 1 docket document
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents1

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