The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary report on the environmental research plane that crashed into the Tred Avon River near Easton, Maryland, costing the pilot his life.
The investigation finds that when the pilot fueled up the plane two days before the planned flight, he added fuel to the auxiliary fuel tanks, rather than the main fuel tanks. It also shows that he knew his engines were in trouble minutes before the crash.
The pilot, 56-year-old Robert Merlini, was hired to reposition a twin-engine Cessna 402B from Tipton Airport at Fort Meade to Easton Airport in Talbot County. The plane, owned by the University Research Foundation, was to be used in Easton to conduct future atmospheric testing flights.
The NTSB report reveals that on July 14, two days before the planned flight, maintenance personnel conducted an annual inspection and made ground engine runs. According to investigators, Merlini told his manager there were 12 gallons of fuel in each main tank and he planned to add 20 additional gallons to each main tank so he wouldn’t need to switch tanks during the flight to Easton.
However, the NTSB says, airport security video shows Merlini adding the 20 gallons of fuel to each auxiliary fuel tank, instead of to the main tanks. The Cessna was not flown until Merlini took off the morning of July 16.
The Cessna took off from Tipton at 8:57 a.m., and at 9:28, Merlini contacted Easton Airport’s air traffic control to report “a pretty significant engine problem”. He was 12 miles out from Easton Airport at that time. As air traffic controllers advised the pilot what to do, he said he had a “pretty bad right engine” and about 30 seconds later, Merlini declared an emergency and reported the engines were losing power. He told controllers he couldn’t make it to the airport and would try to land in a field. Instead, the aircraft crashed into the Tred Avon River about four miles south of the Easton Airport.
The impact happened at 9:32 a.m., just four minutes after Merlini first reported the engine problem. The Cessna was substantially damaged and Merlini was fatally injured.
The NTSB says that the left wing and left engine was separated from the rest of the plane, but the rest of the Cessna was intact and was examined at a recovery facility. Investigators found that both right wing fuel tanks were breached during impact. The right fuel selector handle was in the auxiliary fuel tank position and the left engine fuel selector handle was in the crossfeed position
No fuel contamination was found, and the sparkplugs and propeller were both working.
It was Merlini’s first flight in at least six months, according to records of his flight hours.
The crash prompted a response by Maryland State Police, the Coast Guard, and the search for the pilot included the Anne Arundel County Fire Department’s dive team, Natural Resources Police Underwater Operations Team and other boat crews from Queen Anne’s, Dorchester and Talbot counties. Ultimately the Anne Arundel County team located and recovered his body.
You can read the full NTSB preliminary report here.
