FAA notes modified fuel system in 2016 AT-6 accident

Owners should verify that the placards and mechanical provisions are capable of functioning as designed “to prevent inadvertently selecting the fuel selector position that would unknowingly shut off fuel flow,” the FAA said in a special airworthiness information bulletin issued Feb. 9.

The aircraft involved in the crash, which occurred shortly after departure from Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona, had its fuel selector lever pointer “positioned in an unmarked painted white area on the placard, which shut off fuel,” the bulletin says, noting other mechanical and marking discrepancies that likely made the accident—in which the pilot and passenger died—“an isolated event.”

“The fuel selector was not approved for installation, and there is not a known similar fleet population of aircraft with this unapproved part installed,” the FAA noted.

The bulletin lists the appropriate parts and illustrates appropriate placards for the various T-6 and AT-6 models affected.