Of course I am careful ...........
 

This is a recent TRUE story.

337 owner goes for short flight with wife. Front engine quits and he returns to airport on rear engine (maybe 15 minutes after front engine dies).

He then asks mechanic to have a look. No problems found on inspection. Shortly thereafter, mechanic does fuel inspection and finds a "ton" of water in the fuel (can't confirm how much but a lot based on mechanics comments). Perhaps more than a pint!

Mechanic asked owner if he checked fuel and owner said "yes". The pilot's proceedure; "I Pulled the little knob inside and watched the fuel squirt out on the ground for a few seconds". This was the extent of his fuel check.

The aircraft sits outside on a tiedown (hmmm). The fuel caps were the older type with rather poor seals. This is a post -73 normally aspirated aircraft in "good condition".

Apparently the wife has lost some confidence in the AC after the engine quit. This bothered her (quote from mechanic).

Two new fuel caps cured this problem.

Skymasters seem to keep flying despite their owners <G>.

There appears to be a number of pilots are fighting to be the top Darwin Award winner or perhaps the runner up.

bob

How true, Bob. Here are two quotes from the Fuel Management page in my www.SkymasterUS.com website:

You see, because of its reputation as a bullet-proof aircraft, some pilots treat the 337 as if it was a simple single-engine aircraft. But it isn't. You don't just get in and fly. If you treat it for what it is -- a complex, high-performance, retractable-gear, variable-pitch-prop twin -- and if you maintain it properly, and if you do thorough pre-flights, and if you stay proficient, then it is indeed a very safe aircraft.

You start with a thorough pre-flight as set forth in the Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH), including climbing on the wings to visually check fuel quantity on each tank, draining fuel from each tank until it's water-free (and remember that you do these two tasks after each re-fueling, not just before the day's first flight), draining the engine fuel sumps, and confirming that there's adequate oil. Nothing new here, just the old routine stuff, except it's important -- the Skymaster is not bullet-proof.

Ernie

And don't forget
 

To climb onto the wing and check fuel even if you watched the line guy fill it up. Two times, both times of which I was extremely reluctant to get my ladder out and do it (and once was at night while I was running late) I checked behind the line guys and found a fuel cap off one time and loose the other time.

EVERYONE gets in a hurry and makes mistakes every now and then.

Keven
________
LAMBORGHINI MURCI?LAGO

Keven

How many kids do you have ?

Bob

I hate being the punchline to a joke
 

Two, why? That obvious?

Keven
________
Body Science

Moral of the story?

Can happen to the best of us.....

Bob