Part-Specific accident data?

Hi, All;

I’m hoping Ron W will chime in here....

Are the NTSB records searchable for specific brand names of parts that contributed to an accident?

I’m trying to find out the instances of Facet fuel pumps failing and then blocking the fuel flow, causing engine stoppage. If the pump just stops working, fuel will normally continue flowing. I’ve heard anecdotally that there are occasional times that the inner parts come apart, blocking the flow.

I know how to ameliorate the risk, but just curious if this is a 1-in-10,000 occurrence or 1-in-10.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CarlOrton

Hi, All;

I’m hoping Ron W will chime in here....

Are the NTSB records searchable for specific brand names of parts that contributed to an accident?

I’m trying to find out the instances of Facet fuel pumps failing and then blocking the fuel flow, causing engine stoppage. If the pump just stops working, fuel will normally continue flowing. I’ve heard anecdotally that there are occasional times that the inner parts come apart, blocking the flow.

I know how to ameliorate the risk, but just curious if this is a 1-in-10,000 occurrence or 1-in-10.

---

The databases are searchable; how simple/easy the task is depends on how unique the brand name is. I thought "Facet" would be a relatively rare term, but I find the accident reports talking about "facets of the flight" and "the corrosion was faceted" and even "The pilot said he was being facetious."

I ran a search eliminating "facets," "faceted," and "facetious," and got 21 hits. Not all of them are Facet fuel filters, of course; the company makes other parts.

I've attached a PDF file. Note that the page width is 22 inches to try to reduce the line wrap.

Ron Wanttaja

Thank You, Ron; I had no intention of you doing the legwork, but it is much appreciated. I guess my original question was if there was a field in the database that identified a culprit component; hadn't even thought about the parts just being identified as part of the conversation.

Looking at those data contained in your search, I saw only one that was tied to an auto-style fuel Facet pump, and that was 2005 in an RV-6A. And even with that, the pump worked intermittently and would block the flow of fuel. Seems like a pretty low probability of failure.

Thanks again!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CarlOrton

Thank You, Ron; I had no intention of you doing the legwork, but it is much appreciated. I guess my original question was if there was a field in the database that identified a culprit component; hadn't even thought about the parts just being identified as part of the conversation.

---

I have all the structure in place for searching the downloaded NTSB database. It took me more time to convert the output to something sort-of-usable as a PDF than it did to run the original search.

You can search the narratives at:

https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/index.aspx

Go almost all the way to the bottom for the input box labelled "Enter your word string below:" Type in "Facet" and you'll get 28 hits (more than I did) although you'll have to click through the individual reports to see if it's applicable to what you want.

Ron Wanttaja

Facet solid state fuel pumps are a fairly common replacement part in the British car community, they seem to be pretty much bulletproof. The only downside is they don't look like the original SU pumps so guys showing their cars don't use them.

https://mossmotors.com/mgb/fuel-inta...electric-facet