Cessna 140 N76390

Summary

On 9 June 1999 at about 00:13 local time, a Cessna 140 registered N76390 was involved in an accident near Woodstock, Georgia, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 June 1999 at 00:13

Classification

Accident

Location

Woodstock, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Air Acres (5GA4)

Coordinates

34.0997, -84.5101

Aircraft

Cessna 140

Registration

N76390

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA99LA169

Nobody was injured.

a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation because of contaminated fuel, resulting in a forced landing and subsequent impact with a tree.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

After takeoff the airplane's engine began to sputter, at an altitude of about 200 feet above the ground (agl), and corrective action by the pilot did not clear the problem. He elected to land in trees instead of straight ahead to avoid hitting wires. The pilot stated that the airplane 'had not flown in a week,' and during the preflight inspection of the airplane he drained the fuel tanks and said, '...some very small bits of junk ( about 3-4 < pin head size) were observed in [the] right tank containing 87 octane fuel. He drained about 1 1/2 pints until fuel ran clear. [The] engine was started on left tank (100 LL) which was full. Right tank noted 1/4 full....' The FAA inspector that examined the wreckage concluded that, '...after review of the aircraft records and extensive conversation with the pilot, it appeared that the aircraft...suffered some fuel contamination seeing how aircraft had been stored for awhile....'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.