Sunday, June 25, 2017

Cessna 182A Skylane, N524BF, Thinking Cap Aviation LLC, San Jose Skydiving Center: Accident occurred June 24, 2017 near San Martin Airport (E16), Santa Clara County, California

Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

NTSB Identification: GAA17CA367
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, June 24, 2017 in San Martin, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 09/07/2017
Aircraft: CESSNA 182, registration: N524BF
Injuries: 1 Minor.

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.

The pilot reported that he departed for a parachute jump flight with 12 gallons of fuel onboard. He added that, after the parachute jumpers exited the airplane about 10,500 ft mean sea level (msl), he initiated a left spiraling descent back to the airport. He further added that he “heard and felt the engine start [to] quiet down as if it was shutting down.” He then began to make right descending turns and verified that the fuel selector was in the “both” position. He added that the cylinder head temperature was decreasing, so he switched back to left descending turns and that the “fuel starvation due to banking happened two more times.” 

The pilot reported that he entered left downwind about 4,000 ft msl, pushed the throttle and mixture controls full forward, and determined that the “engine wasn’t producing much power.” He added that, during short final, he realized the airplane was too low, so he landed the airplane on a highway “on-ramp.” During the forced landing, the airplane impacted a guard rail and a post.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings.

The pilot reported that he “suspected engine power loss due to fuel exhaustion.”

During a postaccident examination, the Federal Aviation Administration inspector drained about 12 gallons of fuel from both wing tanks and the gascolator. In the Description section of the Cessna 182A Owner’s Manual, it states that there are 1.5 gallons of unusable fuel per fuel tank (3 gallons) and that, when not in level flight, there are an additional 3.5 gallons of unusable fuel per fuel tank (10 gallons). 

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: 
The pilot’s failure to attain a proper glidepath on approach for landing, which resulted in an impact with a guard rail and post. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to ensure that sufficient fuel was onboard for nonlevel flight, which resulted in fuel starvation. 

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; San Jose, California

Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

Thinking Cap Aviation LLC: http://registry.faa.gov/N524BF

NTSB Identification: GAA17CA367
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, June 24, 2017 in San Martin, CA
Aircraft: CESSNA 182, registration: N524BF
Injuries: 1 Minor.

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.

The pilot reported that he departed for a parachute jump flight with 12 gallons of fuel. He added that after the parachute jumpers exited the airplane about 10,500 ft. mean sea level (MSL), he initiated a left spiraling descent back to the airport. He further added that he "heard and felt the engine start [to] quiet down as if it was shutting down". He then began to make right descending turns and verified that the fuel selector was in the "both" position. He added that the cylinder head temperature was decreasing, so he switched back to left descending turns and the "fuel starvation due to banking happened two more times".

The pilot reported that he entered left downwind about 4,000 ft. MSL, pushed the throttle and mixture controls full forward, and determined that the "engine wasn't producing much power". He added that during short final he realized the airplane was too low, so he landed the airplane on a highway "on-ramp". During the forced landing, the airplane impacted a guard rail and a post.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings.

The pilot reported that he "suspected engine power loss due to fuel exhaustion".

During a postaccident examination, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector drained about 12 gallons of fuel from both wing tanks and the gascolator.

In the Description section of the Cessna 182A Owner's Manual, it states that there are 1.5 gallons of unusable fuel per fuel tank (3 gallons) and that there are an additional 3.5 gallons of unusable fuel per fuel tank (10 gallons) when not in level flight.



A single-engine plane used for skydiving crashed near the San Martin Airport Saturday evening, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department.

The Cessna 182A Skylane built in 1957 had just released four skydivers and was on its way back to the airport when it went down just before 5:15 p.m. near the southbound on-ramp from East San Martin Avenue to Highway 101, according to officials. 

The 30-year-old pilot, who was the only person inside the plane at the time of the crash, told the California Highway Patrol that he suffered cuts to his face and a black eye.

Dhar Mrityunjoy of San Jose was piloting the plane, which is operated by the San Jose Skydiving Center.

Mrityunjoy said the plane's engine quit on the final approach to the airport. 

"His intention was to land the plane and he lost power on his approach to the runway," CHP Officer Jason Smith said.

Footage from the scene showed the plane come to rest next to the southbound on-ramp beneath highway metering lights. 

There were no flames, but the plane was damaged. 

A witness said the plane bounced on the shoulder of the on-ramp, sheared a traffic metering light and smashed into another pole.

The crash completely blocked the southbound on-ramp, but both directions of Highway 101 remained open while authorities investigated the incident.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash. 

There appears to be no questions about the plane's ability to fly safely, according to the Federal Aviation Administration registry.

San Martin is located just south of Morgan Hill and north of Gilroy.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com






MORGAN HILL — A small plane crashed on southbound Highway 101 Saturday evening in an unincorporated part of Santa Clara County near Morgan Hill, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The single-engine Cessna 182 crashed after departing from San Martin Airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said. 

The pilot was intending to return to San Martin Airport, but reported engine trouble shortly before the crash.

The pilot was the only person on board.

The crash was reported to the California Highway Patrol at about 5:15 p.m. just south of East San Martin Avenue.

The pilot had missed a runway at the San Martin Airport, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Rich Glennon told Bay City News.

Glennon said the pilot is OK, though it was immediately unclear if the pilot was injured.

A spokesman for San Jose Skydiving Center confirmed that the plane was one of theirs.

According to Federal Aviation Administration registries, the plane was registered to Thinking Cap Aviation LLC out of Whitefish, Montana.

http://www.mercurynews.com







San Martin, Calif. —  A single-engine plane used for skydiving, crashes onto a Highway 101 on-ramp, near the San Martin Airport Saturday night. 

According to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, the plane had just released four skydivers and was on its way back to the airport, when it went down just before 5:15. 

It ended up crashing near the southbound on-ramp from East San Martin Avenue to Highway 101. 

The pilot told CHP the plane's engine quit on the final approach to the airport. 

He suffered only minor injuries: cuts to his face and a black eye.

The crash completely blocked the southbound on-ramp, but both directions of Highway 101 remained open, while authorities investigated the incident.

http://www.ksbw.com

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