Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Cessna 152, N53393: Accident occurred September 26, 2017 at Barrow County Airport (KWDR), Winder, Georgia

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Atlanta, Georgia

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

http://registry.faa.gov/N53393

NTSB Identification: ERA17LA336
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, September 26, 2017 in Winder, GA
Aircraft: CESSNA 152, registration: N53393
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 September 26, 2017, about 2030 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N53393, was substantially damaged during a collision with terrain while performing a forced landing following a loss of engine power after takeoff from Barrow County Airport (WDR), Winder, Georgia. The private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight which was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

In a telephone interview, the pilot stated that the airplane had been parked for an extended period, and he was preparing it for an annual inspection which was more than 1 year overdue. On the day prior to the accident flight, he charged the airplane's battery, and ran the engine for about 30 minutes. Prior to the accident flight, he performed a preflight inspection of the airplane, measured the level of fuel in each tank, sampled the fuel tanks and fuel strainer for contaminants, and ran the engine for approximately 5-7 minutes with no anomalies noted.

The pilot taxied the airplane for takeoff, performed the before-takeoff checks, and departed from runway 31. When the airplane reached about 200 ft above ground level, the engine "sputtered" and then stopped producing power. The pilot performed a forced landing to a field beyond the departure end of the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings.

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical certificate was issued July 31, 2014. The pilot estimated he had 700 total hours of flight experience, 300 hours of which were in the Cessna 152.

According to FAA records, the airplane was manufactured in 1979, and had accrued approximately 1,875.1 total aircraft hours. Its most recent annual inspection was completed November 6, 2012 at 1,864.4 total aircraft hours.

At 2035, the weather recorded at WDR included clear skies and calm wind. The temperature was 25°C, and the dew point was 20°C. The altimeter setting was 29.96 inches of mercury.

The wreckage was examined at the accident site, and all major components were accounted for at the scene. Both wings were substantially damaged. The left wing fuel tank was breeched by impact and contained no fuel. The right tank was intact and contained about 8 gallons of fuel. The gascolator was drained, and the first 4 ounces drained were clear water, and the remaining 4 ounces were a mixture of water and fuel.

The carburetor was separated from the engine, and was reattached with an adhesive to facilitate an engine operational check. An external fuel tank was then plumbed to the carburetor, and the engine was started on the airframe utilizing the airplane's own battery. The engine started immediately, accelerated smoothly, and ran continuously without interruption. A magneto check was performed satisfactorily, and the engine was shut down utilizing the airplane's engine controls.

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