Southeast : Investigators Rule Out Tainted Fuel in Plane Crashes
Investigators have ruled out the possibility of tainted fuel in the Dec. 26 crashes of two planes owned by the same Long Beach operator.
Some pilots and officials at Long Beach Municipal Airport had suspected deliberate contamination in the fuel tanks of both Cessna 152s owned by Jack’s Aircraft Rentals.
But National Transportation and Safety Board inspector Bob Crispin said tests of samples from the fuel tanks of both planes have determined that the fuel was unadulterated.
“It’s not the fuel,” Crispin said. He said he is still investigating possible mechanical and electrical problems that could have caused the planes to lose power.
The planes crashed five hours apart, the first shortly after takeoff from a Compton air field. The second occurred as a pilot and his passenger were returning from a trip to Catalina Island when the plane lost power and later sank in the ocean a mile off the coast. None of the four people aboard the planes were injured. . . .
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