Cessna T210L N30286 accident near Buena Vista, Colorado

Probable cause

The partial loss of engine power due to a vane failure in the engine-driven fuel pump.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that the airplane was over mountains and near the destination airport when the engine temperature and fuel flow gauges “dropped” and the engine lost partial power. The pilot pushed the throttle in and turned on the auxiliary fuel pump to the “high” position, but those actions had no effect on the engine power. The pilot troubleshot the loss of power; however, there was no change. The pilot then located a flat, treeless area for a forced landing. During the forced landing the landing gear separated and the airplane came to a stop upright. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage, firewall, and left outboard wing.

A postaccident examination of the airplane’s engine-driven fuel pump showed that one of the pump’s two carbon vanes had fractured in half. How the carbon vane fractured was not determined. The severed fuel pump vane likely resulted in fuel cavitation, a drop in pump outlet pressure, a gradual decrease in engine rpm, and subsequent partial loss of engine power.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN21LA271 for the full record.