NTSB Identification: ERA12CA568
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, September 19, 2012 in Quitman, MS
Probable Cause Approval Date: 02/27/2013
Aircraft: CESSNA 172M, registration: N172HA
Injuries: 1 Serious.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
After flying for about 3 hours on a routine pipeline patrol flight at 1,500 feet above ground level, the engine “sputtered,” then ceased producing power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine but was unsuccessful and prepared for an emergency landing in a farm field below. The pilot was unable to recall the events that subsequently transpired, but a postaccident examination of the airplane showed that the left main landing gear collapsed during the landing, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing and engine firewall. Additionally, the fuel system remained intact and both fuel tanks were absent of fuel. About 1/2 pint of fuel was recovered from the fuel strainer, carburetor supply fuel line, and the carburetor float bowl. Following the accident, the pilot stated that he did not check the fuel level prior to departing on the accident flight and that the accident could have been prevented by performing a proper preflight inspection of the airplane using the published procedure in the pilot’s operating handbook.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot’s improper preflight inspection, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
The pilot was performing a routine pipeline patrol flight at 1,500 feet agl, and after flying for about 3 hours, the engine “sputtered,” then ceased producing power. The pilot then attempted to restart the engine, but was unsuccessful, and prepared for an emergency landing in a farm field below. The pilot was unable to recall the events that subsequently transpired, but a post-accident examination of the airplane showed that the left main landing gear collapsed during the landing, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing and engine firewall. Additionally, the fuel system remained intact and both fuel tanks were absent of fuel. About 1/2-pint of fuel was recovered from the fuel strainer, carburetor supply fuel line, and the carburetor float bowl. Following the accident, the pilot stated that he did not check the fuel level prior to departing on the accident flight, and that the accident could have been prevented by performing a proper preflight inspection of the airplane using the publish procedure in the pilot’s operating handbook and not “repetitive memory.”
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 172HA Make/Model: C172 Description: Skyhawk
Date: 09/19/2012 Time: 1630
Event Type: Incident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Unknown
LOCATION
City: QUITMAN State: MS Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED IN A FIELD, NEAR QUITMAN, MS
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: U
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: JACKSON, MS (SW31) Entry date: 09/20/2012
Pictured: A Flomaton man was seriously injured in this crash Wednesday in Mississippi.
Photo by Cindy Baxley, North Escambia
Photo by Cindy Baxley, North Escambia
Photo by Cindy Baxley, North Escambia
Freddie Wayne “Bo” McCall III of Flomaton was the only person aboard the single engine Cessna 172M when it crash landed in a hayfield near Quitman, Miss., just before noon. McCall was transported by ambulance to Wayne General Hospital in Waynesboro, Miss., and later airlifted to University Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., hospital where was listed in stable condition Wednesday night.
McCall suffered facial fractures and major bruising in the crash, his father, Freddie Wayne McCall, Jr., said Wednesday night from the hospital in Waynesboro. He will need reconstructive surgery on his eye socket but suffered no damage to his eye, family members said.
McCall was inspecting pipeline routes from the air at the time of a crash. A local farmer told reporters that he witnessed the crash on his property. He took McCall, who was conscious and alert, to his home about three miles away and called 911.
“He did everything right. It could have been much, much worse,” McCall, Jr. said. “He was not counting on the field being wet; it only took about 20 feet for the plane to stop.”
“It was just divine intervention that the farmer was cutting hay and was able to get him some help,” McCall, Jr. added.
“I want to pass a huge, huge thank you to the man who God had working in the field Bo crashed in. God and that man saved my husband’s life. I hope to meet the man in the field and give him a hug one day,” Bo McCall’s wife Ashley told a Mississippi newspaper late Wednesday night.
The Federal Aviation Administration was expected on the scene by Thursday morning, with a full investigation into the cause of the crash to be conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board. The results of that investigation are not expected for several weeks.
Bo McCall is the grandson of Century Mayor Freddie Wayne McCall. The family operates Brewton Aviation out of the Brewton Airport.
Source: http://www.northescambia.com
A plane crashed in rural Clarke County late Wednesday morning, causing serious injuries to the pilot.
The crash happened around 11 a.m. near County Road 624, about two miles north of the Wayne County line.
Investigators say the plane was flying over northern Wayne County and southern Clarke County when it encountered some kind of trouble.
A farmer working in a field saw the plane flying low and then saw it crash on his property. He rushed to the plane, and helped get the pilot, Freddie Wayne McCall, III, of Brewton, Ala., out. He took the injured man to his house and called 911.
"He kept saying he wanted to call his daddy," said the farmer, L.B. Odom. "And he had lost his glasses, too, so he wanted to find his glasses. So we finally did."
McCall was first taken to Wayne General Hospital in Waynesboro and then by helicopter to University Medical Center in Jackson.
Local authorities were on the scene, just minutes after the accident took place. They say they believe the man was flying his plane over local pipelines, inspecting them, when the crash happened.
"All indications are the man was flying pipeline patrol," said Sheriff Todd Kemp. "There are several in this area. We're not sure which one he was flying over."
The Federal Aviation Administration was expected on the scene Wednesday night. The investigation into the cause of the crash will be headed up by the National Transportation Safety Board.
http://www.wtok.com
WAYNE COUNTY, MS (WDAM) - The pilot of a single-engine plane was forced to landed in a field in Clarke County before noon on Wednesday.
The pilot of the plane, a 30-year-old man, was airlifted to University Medical Center in Jackson after being treated at a hospital in Waynesboro.
The plane was flying from Brought on, Ala., en route to Waynesboro when the pilot reported engine problems. He looked for a safe place to land and brought down the craft in a hay field near the Wayne and Clarke County lines at 11:30 a.m. After the hard landing, a farmer plowing nearby ran to the craft and found the pilot suffering from a head injury. The farmer called for medical assistance.
The FAA has been called in to recover the aircraft. The Clarke County Sheriff’s department and Emergency Management both are the scene waiting for FAA officials.
