The Mystery is Solved!

Some mysteries are never solved - others thankfully are!.  The definite cause of our engine failure and plane crash this summer is one of those resolved mysteries!

Among our blessings is that the airplane was insured, and insurance covered the cost of the airplane.  We were able to buy back the totaled airplane, recover the donated instruments, and sell the fuselage with very little if any loss.  The blood sweat and tears we put into that plane are worth something, too, because certainly there was character building and lesson learning in all that we went through - and that we'll never lose!

So, the mystery - here's how it was solved.  When we sold the fuselage, we had the tip tanks removed to sell separately (see the picture of the wing-tip tanks above) since the buyer didn't want them, and they're worth a fair bit.  They had been donated to us a few months before and Beaver had refurbished the exterior of the tanks, inspected the interior visually through the gas cap hole, and we had a professional shop install them.

After the crash we sold the tanks on E-bay, and sent them to the buyer.  A few days later he called Beaver.  "I think I know what caused your plane crash."  He went on to say that when he received the tip tanks he had a little camera with a scope on it that he inserted into the tanks to check the ends inside.  He found that someone had sprayed after market foam into them which was disintegrating and must have been in our fuel!  We immediately offered a full refund on the tanks to him, and called the shop where our plane was and had them pull the fuel filter.  Beaver had asked them to check the fuel system for the cause of the crash in the original inspection, but at the time nobody really listened. 

Now, when they pulled the filter to examine it, they found that our filter was more clogged than any they had every seen.  Now the picture was clear - the disintegrating foam ran into the fuel system, and at the high power settings needed for takeoff, blocked the filter, and starved the engine of fuel.  This caused our crash this summer immediately after takeoff!

If only we had known!  We had been flying that plane for several weeks since those tanks had been put on.  We flew over mountainous territory, and Beaver had taken off from the airport where we crashed in Montana twice that morning - once with Mom, and once with two other friends; it could have happened at any point!  God in His mercy allowed it to happen in the US instead of here in Mongolia!  What a blessing!  And what a blessing that the buyer had the special scope to check in the ends of the tanks, so the catastrophe was not repeated!  Praise the Lord!  We're thankful that we know what caused the accident; but we're the most thankful that God is in control of our lives!  As long as we let Him, He'll be our pilot!