14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, January 26, 2013 in Atwater, CA
Aircraft: CESSNA 152, registration: N68757
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On January 26, 2013, about 1810 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 152, N68757, experienced a loss of engine power while on approach for landing on runway 31 at Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California. The pilot made a forced landing about 3 miles west of the airport in an open field; during the landing rollout, the airplane struck a culvert and nosed over, coming to rest inverted. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Sierra Academy of Aeronautics operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the tail section and wings. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight departed from MER about 1630.
According to the student’s written statement, he performed a weight and balance calculation and a preflight of the airplane, which included an addition of 4 quarts of oil. He also reported checking the fuel and observing that each fuel tank was 1/2 full. He flew for about 20 minutes, and then became lost. The pilot contacted NorCal approach (Northern California Terminal Radar Approach Control) for assistance back to MER. He contacted MER tower, and then reported that the engine stopped. The pilot advised tower personnel that the engine had failed and he did not have the airport insight. Tower personnel, provide him with a heading to the airport, and he located the airport. The pilot reported that he pitched for best glide speed, and realized that the airplane was too low to make it to the runway, so he decided to make a forced landing in an open field.
The flight school was given permission to recover the airplane to their facility. An interview with the chief pilot revealed that upon his arrival at the accident site, he noted no smell of fuel present and that the fuel tanks had not been compromised. Once the airplane was righted, he was able to drain a total of 1 gallon of fuel; ½ gallon from each wing's fuel tank.
According to the 1978 Cessna pilot’s operating handbook, the maximum of unusable fuel is 1.5 gallons.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 68757 Make/Model: C152 Description: 152, A152, Aerobat
Date: 01/27/2013 Time: 0209
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: ATWATER State: CA Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT LOST POWER AND LANDED IN A FIELD 2 MILES EAST OF CASTLE AIRPORT,
ATWATER, CA
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Business Phase: Cruise Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: FRESNO, CA (WP17) Entry date: 01/28/2013
MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) -- A single-engine plane was headed for Castle Airport in Merced County when the pilot reported engine trouble.The Cessna came down in a field at Bellevue Road near highway 59 around 6:30 pm Saturday.
It's owned by the Sierra Academy of Aeronautics out of Castle Air Base. An official with the flight school said the pilot was a student who was flying for his required solo flight hours.
What everyone is waiting to figure out now is exactly what type of engine failure brought this plane down.
The plane crashed into a wide open. Another pilot flying nearby spotted the flipped over aircraft.
Merced County Fire Department Battalion Chief Gabriel Santos said, "The pilot was circling in the area and the ground resources in the area noticed that. He was able to communicate with the tower exactly where the air craft had gone down."
Santos says once fire fighters located the plane the pilot was already out of the wreckage walking around on his own.
"The pilot was standing outside the aircraft and stated that he was a solo pilot, no passengers and that he was fine," Santos said.
Santos says the pilot reported touching down safely, but the plane only made it about 30 feet before hitting an irrigation ditch.
The front tire buckled causing the plane to flip over.
"It sounded like the pilot did a great job with reporting the incident and just being able to put the aircraft safely on the ground before the engine completely died out," Santos said.
The pilot is said to be doing well.
The flight school says he was performing his last of 10 required solo flight hours when the plane went down.
Emergency responders say it's amazing the plane didn't catch fire. The overturned plane will remain in the field until investigators with the NTSB arrive on Monday to begin their assessment of what brought the plane down.
http://abclocal.go.com
A student pilot is in stable condition after crash landing his airplane two miles east of Castle airport Saturday night, according to Battalion Chief Gabriel Santos, Merced County Fire Department spokesman.
The pilot reportedly lost engine power and collided into a field near Bellevue Road and Fox Road, north of Santa Fe Drive in Atwater around 6:09 p.m.
Santos said the aircraft was overturned and lying in the middle of the field when emergency responders arrived.
The pilot, believed to be a student at Sierra Academy, was able to get out of the plane and was speaking to crews Saturday night. Santos said he was “shook up” but sustained no injuries.
The tower contacted Cal Fire about 6:30 p.m. to notify it about the off-site aircraft collision.
The Federal Aviation Administration was also notified about the incident, Santos said.
It’s unknown if the solo pilot was coming in or taking off from the airport base.
Cal Fire, Merced County Fire Department, Sheriff’s Department and Atwater City Fire Department responded to the scene Saturday night.
Santos said crews were relived there weren’t any serious injuries or fatalities. “We’re just grateful no one was injured,” Santos said.
No property damage or other injuries were reported.
No comments:
Post a Comment