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Stratoliner likely ran short of fuel (Seattle Times)

Posted by bdk on Wed Jun 19, 2002 11:33:35 AM

Stratoliner probe ends; it likely ran short of fuel
Seattle Times 06/19/02
author: Kyung M. Song


A nearly empty fuel tank almost surely brought down the Boeing Stratoliner that ditched in Elliott Bay in March, but the accident's lead investigator said the cause may never be known for certain.


Debra Eckrote, senior investigator with the National Transportation and Safety Board, said yesterday that she was unable to determine the vintage plane's unusable-fuel level which would have established whether the estimated 55 gallons of fuel aboard the Stratoliner at the time of its emergency water landing was tantamount to an empty tank.


The accident probe, now ended, failed to turn up any signs of mechanical failure, inaccurate gauges or fuel leaks.


"With some accidents we know exactly what happened," Eckrote said. Calculating whether the Stratoliner ran out of fuel, however, "got to be too much of an estimate. The (safety board) wants to deal with facts."


Eckrote said she expects to issue a report late next month on the probable cause of the accident.


The meticulously restored, circa-1940 propeller plane took off March 28 from Seattle's Boeing Field for Everett's Paine Field with an estimated 400 gallons of fuel. The four crew members, including two Boeing pilots, figured that was enough for about two hours of flight.


Instead, the Stratoliner took off again from Everett 24 minutes later but subsequently lost power in one engine, then in the other three. Capt. Richard "Buzz" Nelson called a Mayday 22 minutes after the second takeoff. The plane ditched in Elliott Bay six minutes later.


Eckrote said that when the Stratoliner lost power, the crew was headed to Boeing Field, which at the time was its nearest airport.


The next day, salvage crews raised the plane out of the water holding about 700 gallons of fuel and salt water; 45 gallons of fuel were eventually extracted. The Coast Guard estimated that another 10 gallons were spilled.


Eckrote said a certain amount of fuel can't be picked up by the airplane's fuel system. But whether the Stratoliner's tanks dipped below the usable fuel level will never be known. The airplane is one of just 10 built by Boeing before World War II and is the only one in existence.


Eckrote said investigators lacked sufficient technical data for their analysis. The fact that the Stratoliner flew in several different flight modes a pair of takeoffs and landings, an aborted landing and circling over Vashon and Bainbridge islands compounded the difficulty of calculating the aircraft's average fuel-burn rate, Eckrote said.


Also unknown is just how much fuel the crew actually had left to burn. Eckrote said that while the Stratoliner's fuel gauges were found to work properly, the 62-year-old plane's instruments may not have given precise readings.


"Their accuracy compared to what we have today is significantly different," she said.

Seattle Times Article

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