Cessna 172S N346ME

Summary

On 15 November 2001 at about 18:16 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N346ME was involved in an accident near Leesburg, Virginia, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 November 2001 at 18:16

Classification

Accident

Location

Leesburg, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Leesburg Executive (JYO)

Coordinates

39.0778, -77.5575

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N346ME

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Manassas → Gaithersburg

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD02LA013

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's improper stowage of hazardous material.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was loaded with fishing and camping gear, and 15 gallons of 100LL aviation gasoline, in four, five-gallon fuel cans. The fuel cans and the gear were secured under a cargo net in the airplane 2 days prior to the accident. The pilot completed his preflight inspection with no anomalies noted, and checked the security of the cargo in the back of the airplane. There was no evidence of fuel spillage and no odor of fuel in the cabin. The pilot started the engine and taxied to the run-up area at the approach end of a runway, then applied the parking brake, and started the takeoff checklist. During the checklist, there was an "overwhelming fuel smell." The pilot shut down the engine with the mixture but left the master switch and the lights on. He looked for fuel on the floor of the cabin, but I couldn't see any. The pilot deplaned, and was about to close the door when the cabin exploded.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.