Cessna 177B Cardinal, Aerial Photographers LLC, N177FG: Accident occurred May 31, 2013 in Herndon, Virginia

http://registry.faa.gov/N177FG

NTSB Identification: ERA13LA258
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, May 31, 2013 in Herndon, VA
Aircraft: CESSNA 177B, registration: N177FG
Injuries: 3 Minor.

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 May 31, 2013, at 0012 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 177, N177FG, was substantially damaged when it impacted a residential structure during a forced landing near Herndon, Virginia. The commercial pilot, passenger, and one occupant of the structure incurred minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight, which originated from Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, about 2140, and was destined for Manassas Regional Airport (HEF), Manassas, Virginia. The aerial observation flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

According to the pilot, the purpose of the flight was to perform aerial photography in the vicinity of Gaithersburg, Maryland; Frederick, Maryland; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The pilot and passenger originally departed about 1215, on the day of the accident, from HEF and flew to Gaithersburg and Fredrick, before landing at Chester County Airport (MQS), Coatesville, Pennsylvania. The flight then proceeded to PNE, and landed about 1550.

The pilot determined that given the quantity of fuel remaining in the airplane’s fuel tanks, 15 additional gallons would be required to perform the subsequent aerial photography flight before returning to HEF. The pilot and passenger then departed PNE about 2140. After completing the photography portion of the flight, and while enroute to HEF, the pilot and passenger began discussing the airplane’s fuel situation, noting that the left fuel quantity gauge indicated just above empty while the right fuel quantity gauge indicated just above 1/4-tank. About 0000, the pilot and passenger decided that adequate fuel remained and that they would continue to HEF.

About 0007, the airplane’s engine experienced a total loss of power, and the pilot contacted air traffic control and requested an emergency landing at Dulles International Airport (IAD), Herndon, Virginia. The passenger also operated the mixture and throttle controls in an effort to restore engine power, which was initially successful, but the engine again ceased producing power after about 15 seconds. The pilot then realized that the airplane would not be able to reach IAD, and prepared for an off-airport landing. Shortly thereafter, the airplane struck the residential structure.


 David and Corina Ventura and their two children, ages 6 and 1, were shocked when a small private plane, carrying a pilot and one passenger, crashed through the roof and into their living room in greater Herndon in the early morning hours Friday.

The family was displaced as crews worked to remove the nose of the four-passenger plane from their third-floor unit. But now, the Ventura family's nights in a hotel, courtesy of the American Red Cross, have run out.

David says the family has plans to move into a different unit within the same complex, the Dulles Green Apartments on Astoria Circle in the Fairfax County area of Herndon.

Corina injured her back falling out of bed after the crash, which sounded "like a bomb had exploded in the building, and beyond her physical limitations, David says his wife is too emotionally traumatized to return to their former home.

"She won't go back there," David told Patch on Monday, and he can't do the move alone.