Fatal EMS Crash Linked to Incorrect Aircraft Fueling
Jet-A fuel was put in a piston-powered Cessna 421.

The NTSB said the Aug. 27, 2014, crash of an emergency medical services Cessna 421 shortly after takeoff from Las Cruces, N.M., was caused by a line crew member mistakenly adding 40 gallons of jet-A, rather than 100LL fuel, to the piston-powered aircraft. Although the pilot gave the fuel order verbally, neither he nor the line service technician apparently noticed the mismatch between the aircraft’s fuel requirements and what was printed on the side of the fuel truck, or what was apparently printed on the fuel receipt the pilot signed before departure.