Sunday, January 17, 2016

Cessna 152, N6135M, Christiansen Aviation Inc: Accident occurred January 17, 2016 near Madison Municipal Airport (52A), Morgan County, Georgia

NTSB Identification: ERA16LA091 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, January 17, 2016 in Madison, GA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 04/04/2016
Aircraft: CESSNA 152, registration: N6135M
Injuries: 2 Serious.

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 commercial pilot reported that he visually checked the fuel tanks before conducting the personal flight and verified that they were full with a total of 26 gallons (24.5 usable) before the personal flight departed; fuel receipts corroborated that the airplane was refueled before the flight. The pilot stated that, shortly after he descended the airplane from 5,500 ft mean sea level (msl) and then leveled off at 3,500 ft msl, about 3.5 hours into the flight, the engine began running roughly and then lost power. The pilot’s attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful. The pilot subsequently executed a forced landing to a road, and the airplane collided with a pole. 

The Pilot’s Operating Handbook stated that the airplane had about 3.1 hours of fuel endurance at cruise power. Responders to the accident site reported that there was no fuel in the fuel tanks. Further, after the accident, the pilot stated that the engine likely “ran out of gas.” Therefore, the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot’s improper fuel planning.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot’s improper fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

On January 17, 2016, at 1945 eastern standard time, a Cessna 152, N6135M, experienced a total loss of engine power and was unable to make the Madison Municipal Airport (52A), Madison, Georgia. The pilot subsequently made a forced landing to a road and struck a telephone pole with the left wing. The commercial pilot and the passenger were both seriously injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall, left wing, and fuselage. The airplane was registered to a private company and operated by Florida Flyers Flight Academy under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual flight rules conditions existed near the accident site at the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed for the flight that originated from the Northeast Florida Regional Airport (SGJ), St. Augustine, Florida, about 1600, and was destined for the Gwinnett County - Briscoe Field Airport (LZU), Lawrenceville, Georgia. 

The pilot stated that he rented an airplane from his employer for the purpose of flying to his home in Georgia. As part of his pre-flight planning, he obtained the weather along the route of flight, which included a 20 knot headwind, and prepared a flight plan using Foreflight. The pilot said he visually checked each fuel tank before the flight and verified they were topped off for a total of 26 gallons (24.5 usable). He said he had sufficient fuel onboard for the 275.6 nautical mile flight and did not plan to stop for fuel. 

The pilot and his passenger departed St. Augustine at 1600 and climbed to an altitude of 5,500 ft. He said the flight was normal and when he was about 50 miles from Lawrenceville, he descended to 3,500 ft. Once level at the new altitude, and about 3.5 hours into the flight, the pilot noticed that the engine began to run rough. He turned on the carburetor heat, which seemed to restore power. The pilot contacted air traffic control and began a diversion to Madison. While en route to Madison, the engine ran rough again and lost power. The pilot trimmed the airplane for best glide speed and made several attempts to re-start the engine, but to no avail. The pilot realized he was not going to make the airport in Madison and made a forced landing to a road. The pilot did not recall what occurred after he landed. He said that he and his passenger were wearing there seatbelt and shoulder harnesses, but still sustained serious facial injuries. 

The pilot said that before takeoff he noted that the fuel gauges both indicated full. The last time he saw the fuel gauge was about an hour into the flight, when the right fuel gauge was "on empty" and the left fuel gauge indicated it was just below the "full" mark. The pilot said he had flown this airplane numerous times and this was a normal indication for the airplane. When asked what he thought caused the engine to lose power, he said, "It was most likely fuel starvation." When asked if he ran out of gas, he replied, "yes."

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector responded to the accident and observed that both of the airplane's fuel tanks were empty. According to an employee of the company that recovered the airplane, he stated that both wing tanks were intact and completely empty of any fuel. He also stated the firewall was wrinkled, the nose gear was bent aft, the right main landing gear had separated, and the left wing exhibited leading edge impact damage. There was no damage to the right wing.

A representative of Florida Flyers stated the airplane was fueled on the morning of the accident with 17.1 gallons of 100LL and was not flown until the accident flight. 

The Cessna 152 Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) states that with this fuel tank configuration (26 total gallons / 24.5 gallons usable fuel) the airplane has about 3.1 hours of fuel endurance at cruise power. 

The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate for airplane single and multi-engine land airplane, and instrument airplane. He was also a certified flight instructor for airplane single-engine land and held a type rating for a SA-227 airplane. His last FAA first-class medical was issued on March 11, 2015, with a restriction to wear corrective lenses.

Weather at LZU, about 33 miles northwest of the accident site, at 1945, was reported as calm wind, visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature 7 degrees C, dewpoint 0 degrees C, and a barometric pressure setting of 29.85 inches of Hg.

CHRISTIANSEN AVIATION INC: http://registry.faa.gov/N6135M

NTSB Identification: ERA16LA091
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, January 17, 2016 in Madison, GA
Aircraft: CESSNA 152, registration: N6135M
Injuries: 2 Serious.

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 17, 2016, at 1945 eastern standard time, a Cessna 152, N6135M, experienced a total loss of engine power and was unable to make the Madison Municipal Airport (52A), Madison, GA. The pilot subsequently made a forced landing to a road and struck a telephone pole with the left wing. The commercial pilot and the passenger were both seriously injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall, left wing, and fuselage. The airplane was registered to a private company and operated by Florida Flyers Flight Academy under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions existed near the accident site at the time of the accident, and the fight was operated under a visual flight rules flight plan. The flight originated from the Northeast Florida Regional Airport (SGJ), St. Augustine, Florida, about 1400, and was destined for the Gwinnett County - Briscoe Field Airport (LZU), Lawrenceville, Georgia. 

A review of preliminary air traffic control communications revealed that the pilot told a controller that the airplane's engine was running rough and he wanted to land at 52A. The controller assisted the pilot and provided airport information. About three minutes later, the pilot told the controller that he was not going to make the airport. The controller provided a highway for the pilot to land on but there were no further communications from him. The controller contacted law enforcement, who had already been notified that the airplane had landed on a road.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector responded to the accident and observed that both of the airplane's fuel tanks were empty.

The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate for airplane single and multi-engine land airplane, and instrument airplane. He was also a certified flight instructor for airplane single-engine land and held a type rating for a SA-227 airplane.

Weather at LZU, about 33 miles northwest of the accident site, at 1945, was reported as calm wind, visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature 7 degrees C, dewpoint 0 degrees C, and a barometric pressure setting of 29.85 inches of Hg.

FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Atlanta FSDO-11



When McArthur Reid went outside to check his mailbox last Sunday evening, he never imagined a small plane would crash just feet away from his home. A Cessna 152 crashed around 8 p.m. in the middle of a residential neighborhood of Madison at the intersection of East Washington and Vine streets, badly injuring two men, the aircraft’s pilot and passenger—who are expected to survive. Fortunately, the plane crashed without hitting any homes or catching fire. Reid, 64, didn’t hesitate to help, immediately rushing over to the wreckage and pulling the two men inside out of the aircraft to a patch of nearby grass. “I was afraid there could have been a gas leak and the whole thing would blow,” said Reid. “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.” 

As Reid approached the plane, the passenger side door was already open and the male passenger was hanging by his seatbelt partially outside of the aircraft. “He was out of it, but awake,” said Reid. After Reid removed the passenger from the plane, he and a friend moved the pilot. “Oh, the pilot was unconscious and hurt bad, he was bleeding all over me and everywhere,” said Reid. David and Jill Cooper, nearby neighbors, heard the crash from inside their home. “We heard such a big boom, I thought it was car bomb,” said Jill Cooper. Jill, a nurse at MCES, assisted the passenger of the plane before medical help arrived. The man, who Jill estimated to be in his mid-twenties, was disoriented, but talking. “He kept saying, ‘is this a dream? Tell me this is a dream,’” said Jill Cooper. “I tried to keep them talking until help got there.” The man then gave Jill his cell phone and asked her to call his girlfriend to tell her what happened. He also told her he was a helicopter pilot logging hours with a flight instructor in order to get his pilot’s license.

“The most important thing was to find family for him and let him know that family was on the way. That’s what I would want most, if I was on the side of the road someplace and injured.” Cooper was hopeful on account of how lucid the man was while waiting for medical attention. “It was amazing that he was talking,” said Jill, who noted the man was bleeding and believed his nose was broken. Jill thought the pilot has incurred more extensive injuries. “His head was hurting and he was in and out of consciousness,” said Jill Cooper. “I did what I could, but the real heroes were the Morgan County Fire and EMS and the Madison City Police,” said Jill Cooper.

Officials believe the plane’s pilot skillfully navigated the aircraft using streetlights as markers to put the plane on the ground in the safest manner possible. “I think they lined it with that street. It was very windy and they had no power, but he was able to line it up with that street with the streetlight and will live to tell about it,” said Madison City Manager David Nunn. According to Nunn, when the plane was crashing, only a wheel clipped a support power line wire, which broke off the top section of a pole. “It didn’t even knock out any power,” said Nunn. “The most amazing thing was how intact the plane was after the crash, with only the impact damaging the front end of the plane.” Both men were rushed to Athens Regional Medical Center for treatment. 

Local authorities believe the men were headed to the Gwinnet County Airport, originally departing from St. Augustine, Florida. Tim Carter, fire chief of Madison, spoke with the pilot and reported that he has been treated and released from the hospital. “For a crash like that, they were in pretty good shape,” said Carter. No news at this time about the passenger of the plane, but the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) reported that both the pilot and passenger are expected to live.

Source:  http://www.morgancountycitizen.com



MORGAN COUNTY, Ga. -- Residents of a Madison, Ga. neighborhood where a small plane crashed on Sunday are praising the pilot’s skill in landing the aircraft.

The plane crashed near the intersection of E. Washington Street and Vine Street around 7:45 p.m.

The Cessna 152 was headed from St. Augustine, Fla. to Lawrenceville, Ga. when it reported engine trouble.

McArthur Reid said he was headed home when the single-engine plane crashed just feet in front of him.  He rushed to get the two men out of the plane.

Jill Cooper compared the crash to a bomb.   A nurse, she called 911 and went to check on injuries. She said both men were conscious but confused. 

“They didn’t know where they were,” Cooper said. “’He said, ‘Where am I?’ I said, ‘You're in Madison, Georgia.’ He said 'oh my gosh, tell me this is a bad dream.'”

Witnesses report broken noses, bleeding faces, complaints of head injuries and perhaps a broken arm.  The men were clearly in pain, but able to walk and talk.  One was even alert enough to make a request.





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