Cessna 172P N52615

Summary

On 3 September 2003 at about 19:40 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N52615, operated by William Earl McKinnon, was involved in an accident near Jay, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 September 2003 at 19:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Jay, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Jay Airport (FL96)

Coordinates

30.9017, -87.1186

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N52615

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

William Earl McKinnon

Operating rule

Public Use

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Jay → Jay

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA03TA175

2 people were seriously injured.

**This case was modified on 2/18/2016. Refer to the public docket for this accident to view the changes.** Loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

**This case was modified on 2/18/2016. Refer to the public docket for this accident to view the changes.** The pilot stated that he was flying an aerial observation mission in a lefthand circular pattern about 500 feet above ground level with a passenger/observer in the backseat when the engine lost power when he attempted to climb out of turbulence. He stated that he thought the turbulence was caused by prop wash from a previous turn. He rolled wings level and added full power to climb out of it, but the engine did not respond to the power setting. The airplane "settled" and went down in an area of pine trees. The passenger/observer stated that he looked up front to see the pilot "fighting with the controls" before impact. The passenger/observer and the pilot stated that they could smell fuel leaking from the airplane. Several responders stated that they did not smell the odor of fuel at the crash site and saw no fuel leaks. One first responder stated that he did smell fuel but could not locate its origin. An examination conducted by the engine and airplane manufacturers determined that the fuel tanks were intact with no breaches. Inspection of the fuel system determined fuel line continuity. Small amounts of fuel were drained from the tanks. However, photographs taken by sheriff's department detectives showed a large blue fuel stain on the right wing from the tank filler cap to the wing leading edge. The airplane had been in an extreme nose-low position for approximately 42 hours before investigators drained the fuel tanks. The Pilot's Information Manual states that the airplane has a usable fuel capacity of 40 gallons. Airplane flight logs indicated that the airplane's fuel endurance was about 7.98 gallons per hour. Fueling and flight records indicated the airplane had flown 2.2 hours before the accident and after being topped off with 15.93 gallons on August 29, which was the last time it was flown before the accident flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.