Caravan 208B
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200; Flight Crew Total 1400; Flight Crew Type 1000
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Flight Crew Rejected Takeoff; Flight Crew Returned To Gate; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
I briefed my departure as we taxied out- to include a short field takeoff. I applied 2000 ft-lbs (company takeoff limit); saw gauges in the green; and released the brakes. It seemed to take a little longer than normal to rotate; but we had nine passengers so it didn't seem too abnormal. About 8-10 feet off the ground; I sensed a lack of power and felt slow. I glanced at the engine gauges and noticed right away that torque was at 1400 ft-lbs and decreasing. My initial thought was that one of us had unintentionally knocked the power lever back; so I attempted to add more power; and only watched the power continue to decrease. I said to the FO; 'I just lost my power; I'm putting it back down.' I pulled power back to idle; landed on the remaining runway; put it in beta; applied brakes; and stopped before the end of the runway. Immediately after touching back down; the cockpit filled with the smell of jet fuel. I made the decision since we still had power and were not experiencing a fire to taxi back to parking and shut the engine down. I called the mechanic and he drove over to assess the problem. After hours of trouble-shooting; it was found that an o-ring in the fuel manifold was punctured on installation. We were the first crew to fly the aircraft after the fuel nozzles had been replaced; and that's when it occurred.
C208B Captain reported rejecting the takeoff shortly after liftoff when he experienced a loss of power related to a leaking o-ring in the fuel manifold.