| The pilot successfully punched out (of course), the plane
skidded on the desert floor and came to a stop near Marine Corps Air Station
Yuma, Arizona. The Skyhawk was in the landing pattern for Yuma when it
experienced a failure of the Pb4 (burner pressure) sensing line at the
connection to the fuel control moisture trap. This failure caused the engine
to immediately go to idle. If the pilot had more altitude he would have had
time to switch to "manual" fuel control and recover, but he only had time to
jam the throttle to the military stop, decide he was it trouble, and punch.
The Skyhawk basically pancaked in, at the position shown in the picture. The
fuselage was cut apart during the mishap investigation in order to remove
the engine in an "as-is" condition for the E.I. at NARF Jax. With minor
repair and replacement of the broken line we heard the engine ran 4-0
(perfectly). The pilot is reported to have been Captain Joe "Famous"
Krejmas.
by John W. Street, MgySgt, USMC-Ret. |
