Pilot in fatal August airplane crash reported fuel and air problems after landing at Lake Tahoe Airport
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 10/12/2012 - 8:23pm
Several witnesses reported hearing the airplane depart and noticed that the engine noise sounded labored, as if it was not producing full power. The airplane impacted trees north of the departure end of runway 36.
The five occupants who died were from the Fresno area. They were Harold Cardwell, 60, Kin Cardwell, 41, Francisco De La Mora, 43, Lorena De La Mora, 39, and Esmeralda De La Mora, 6.
Read the preliminary report below.
The airplane that crashed after takeoff from Lake Tahoe Airport on August 25 in which five people died may have experienced problems with a fuel and air mixture — after landing earlier in the day at the airport, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The report does not determine the cause but states that after the airplane left Fresno and landed at the Lake Tahoe Airport it experienced trouble. As it was taxiing to the ramp the airplane's engine "shut down and it took numerous attempts for the pilots to restart it. Upon parking, the pilots reported to the attendants that the airplane’s fuel/air mixture was difficult to establish at such a high density altitude and that if you operate the engine too lean its temperature will exceed normal operation parameters."
The evening of the crash, the occupants returned to the airport with the intention of flying back to Fresno, where the airplane was based. One of pilots made a radio transmission on the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (UNICOM) stating that they were departing runway 36 and making a “straight out over the lake departure and then a crosswind departure to the left,” the report stated.
Several witnesses reported hearing the airplane depart and noticed that the engine noise sounded labored, as if it was not producing full power. The airplane impacted trees north of the departure end of runway 36.
The five occupants who died were from the Fresno area. They were Harold Cardwell, 60, Kin Cardwell, 41, Francisco De La Mora, 43, Lorena De La Mora, 39, and Esmeralda De La Mora, 6.
Read the preliminary report below.
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