Cessna 152 N24218

Summary

On 17 January 2005 at about 17:57 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N24218, operated by John Gibi, was involved in an accident near Nashville, Tennessee, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 January 2005 at 17:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Nashville International (KBNA)

Coordinates

36.1167, -86.6667

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N24218

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

John Gibi

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Smyrna → Nashville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL05CA045

1 person had minor injuries.

A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of fuel system blockage.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The instructional flight was approximately three miles south of the destination airport at 1600 feet when it was cleared to land on runway 2R. The engine began to lose power and then surged back up. The engine seemed to recover, then the power dropped again. The student pilot applied carburetor heat. The flight instructor took control of the airplane. He checked the carburetor heat and mixture, then pumped the throttle several times. The flight instructor pushed the carburetor heat in the off position and the engine's condition got worse. The engine continued to quit and then surge back up to full power. The flight instructor informed air traffic control that he was losing power and could not hold altitude. The airplane was approximately 1200 feet and the flight instructor knew they would not make it to the runway. The flight instructor selected a bare pasture on a short hilltop for the emergency landing. The instructor brought the airplane in over trees at the south end of the pasture with no power and full flaps. The airplane touched down on the pasture, but the instructor could not stop it before the crest of the hill. The airplane went over the crest and struck a tree with the right wing, spun around 180-degress, collided into more trees and then came to rest. Examination of the airplane revealed the engine mounts broken, nose gear collapsed, both wings damaged and the empennage bent approximately 45-degrees to the left. Further examination of the engine revealed 18 gallons of fuel in the fuel tanks and very little fuel in the fuel lines or the carburetor. There was also no water found in the fuel lines or carburetor bowl. There were no anomalies found during the examination of the engine. At the time of the accident, the temperature was minus 4-degrees Celsius and the dewpoint was minus 16-degrees Celsius.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.