Monday, July 27, 2015

Cessna 195A, N195AP: Accident occurred July 26, 2015 near Iuka Airport (15M), Tishomingo County, Mississippi

TUPELO AERONAUTICS INC

FAA Flight Standards District Office:  FAA Jackson FSDO-31

NTSB Identification: ERA15LA283 

14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, July 26, 2015 in Iuka, MS
Probable Cause Approval Date: 07/11/2016
Aircraft: CESSNA 195A, registration: N195AP
Injuries: 2 Minor.

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The airline transport pilot reported that he had just departed on a long cross-country flight. He said that the takeoff was normal until the airplane reached an altitude of between about 600 and 800 ft above the ground, at which point he looked at the engine monitor and saw an exhaust gas temperature “drop.” The engine then started to run roughly, and the pilot immediately turned the airplane back to the airport. Shortly after, the engine suddenly stopped, and the pilot subsequently made a forced landing to a narrow road adjacent to the airport. 

During postaccident examinations, no mechanical anomalies were observed with the engine and fuel system that would have precluded normal operation. Although a small amount of water was found in the airframe fuel filter, no evidence of water was found in the fuel lines. The reason for the total loss of engine power could not be determined.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
A total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because a postaccident examination of the engine and fuel system found no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

On July 26, 2015, at 1520 central daylight time, N195AP, a Cessna 195A, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing after a total loss of engine power on takeoff from the Iuka Airport (15M), Iuka, Mississippi. The airline transport pilot and the passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot. A visual flight rules flight plan was field for the flight that was destined for Mesquite Metro Airport (HQZ), Mesquite, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

The pilot stated that he had landed at 15M and purchased 64 gallons of 100LL fuel. He then departed for Texas. The pilot said the takeoff was normal until he reached an altitude of about 600 to 800-ft above the ground. At that point, he looked down at his engine monitor and saw one of the EGT bars "drop." The pilot said the engine "felt a little rough" and he made an immediate turn back to the airport. Shortly after, the engine suddenly stopped producing power and the pilot made a forced landing to a narrow road adjacent to the airport. The airplane landed hard resulting in substantial damage to both wings, the firewall, and the right horizontal stabilizer. The landing gear and propeller were also damaged.

A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed that the right-hand lower engine mount was broken in two places and the engine had pushed up and back causing the starter to be forced back thru the firewall. The fuel supply hose bushing that screwed into the inlet side of the engine driven fuel pump was also fractured at the back of the pump. The fuel pump was removed and the fuel pump drive was undamaged. Continuity was then established to the fuel drive by manual rotation of the propeller. An electric drill was then used to turn the engine driven fuel pump as fuel was poured into the pump. The pump forced fuel out of the pump as designed. The engine driven fuel pump was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board's Materials Lab and the fractured section of the supply hose bushing was examined. The examination revealed the brass bushing failed due to overload stresses and no pre-exisiting anomalies were noted.

The fuel servo was not damaged and a sample of fuel was taken from the main fuel supply. The sample was absent of water and debris. Continuity of the fuel selector valve was confirmed thru the left, right and off positions. The electric boost pump was tested and operated normally. The fuel line that would normally run to the inlet side of the engine driven fuel pump was then attached to the fuel servo and all but one of the fuel injector lines were disconnected. When the electric fuel boost pump was turned on, fuel spray was observed coming from each injector. The airframe fuel filter was removed and a small amount of water was observed in the bowl. A visual inspection of the spark plugs found no anomalies. The distributor was turned on and the engine was rotated with the starter and spark was observed on several leads. No mechanical discrepancies were observed that would have precluded normal operation of the engine.

The pilot held an airline transport pilot rating for airplane single and multi-engine land. He reported a total of 12,000 total flight hours, of which, 1,500 hours were in the accident airplane. The pilot's last Federal Aviation Administration second class medical was issued on July 14, 2014.



NTSB Identification: ERA15LA283
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, July 26, 2015 in Iuka, MS
Aircraft: CESSNA 195A, registration: N195AP
Injuries: 1 Minor, 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 July 26, 2015, at 1520 central daylight time, N195AP, a Cessna 195A, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing after a total loss of engine power on takeoff from the Iuka Airport (15M), Iuka, Mississippi. The airline transport pilot sustained minor injuries and the passenger was not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot. A visual flight rules flight plan was field for the flight that was destined for Mesquite Metro Airport (HQZ), Mesquite, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

The pilot stated that he had landed at 15M and purchased 64 gallons of 100LL fuel. He then departed for Texas. The pilot said the takeoff was normal until he reached an altitude of about 600 to 800-feet above the ground. At that point, he looked down at his engine monitor and saw one of the EGT bars "drop." The pilot said the engine "felt a little rough" and he made an immediate turn back to the airport. Shortly after, the engine suddenly stopped producing power and the pilot made a forced landing to a narrow road adjacent to the airport. The airplane landed hard resulting in substantial damage to both wings and the right horizontal stabilizer. The landing gear and propeller were also damaged.

The airplane was moved to a local hangar for further examination.





IUKA, Miss. (WTVA) --Tishomingo County Sheriff Glenn Whitlock is among those who responded to a plane crash Sunday afternoon.

"This wing was up on this side and that wing was down in the ground there where it actually came to rest," said Whitlock.

Pilot Aubie Pearman and a passenger were planning to fly to Dallas, but something went terribly wrong after takeoff from the Iuka Airport.

"Evidently the engine just didn't make it and they had to make this emergency landing in the roadway here,” added Sheriff Whitlock.

The pilot managed to avoid power lines and tall trees, which is amazing to all those who see the crash site for themselves.

"I'm not a pilot, but I think that the pilot did a great job of being able to put the plane down in this area,” said Whitlock.

The area was examined by the pilot, passenger and an investigator with the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday.

Prior to the site visit, the Cessna 195 was looked over. Investigators look at aircraft records, the last time the plane was fueled and pilot credentials.

"We'll gather the information and we'll turn it over to the NTSB investigator who is in charge. They will take information and make a determination and cause,” said Federal Aviation Administration Investigator Robert Mahaffey.

The pilot declined to be interviewed for this story simply saying for right now, he just can't.

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