Typical NTSB wording. Why did that ATP pilot stall the airplane? Surely an ATP knows about stalls….
![Shocked 8O](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
The Real reason….was Engine Failure immediately after takeoff….. I’m guessing he stalled the airplane because he was reluctant to hit the trees.
He hit them anyway… But Why..??
Because he had inadequately addressed the airplane’s on-going water-in-the-fuel cont contamination problem.
He died.
Why was water getting into the tanks..? Because the fuel caps were improperly gasketed with old, crumbling gaskets. (Water in ragwing fuel tanks are a common problem and especially-so with the ‘48 C-170 due to that irregular cap-system.)
After draining the tanks and re-filling them…he “ran the engine on the ground 15 minutes to be sure the carburetor didn’t have water in it”….
![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
The ‘48 C-170 uses different type fuel tanks and different fuel caps than later 170-models. They can be difficult to source. As far back as the beginnings of these Forums (at least two decades) this search has been on-going.
Here’s one source: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/ ... -13766.php
Made of nitrile
OD: 4 1/4” x id 3 1/4”
Thickness: 3/16”
The Real Gaskets company also made them for awhile…out of “silicone” ..which is NOT for gasoline.
![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
Real Gaskets now makes them out of “Viton”: https://realgaskets.com/product/fuel-cap-gasket-5/
AND…Both Real Gaskets and Aircraft Spruce are Supporters of TIC170A.