2 months ago
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Investigators plan further examination of the fuel pump on a small plane that crashed near the Portland International Jetport, killing two people. A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board noted this week that tests of the crash-damaged Yak-52 pointed toward problems with the fuel pump. The report says there appeared to be corrosion inside the fuel pump bypass valve and fuel inlet line. A stuck bypass valve could cause the engine to become starved for fuel. Pilot Mark Haskell of Brunswick was undergoing biannual certification and had a flight instructor with him when the Soviet training aircraft crashed shortly after takoff on June 17. The propeller was not turning on impact, indicating that the engine had failed.
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