Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Dandridge, Tennessee 37725
Monday, February 28, 2000 17:50 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot said that the airplane's engine had been operating roughly, and had sputtered a few times during the flight, so he decided to land at his private landing strip and have his mechanic work on the engine. As he was maneuvering to land, the student said the engine sputtered again, so he pulled the primer out and pushed it back in and it ran a little, but knew he was not going to make it to the landing strip, so he made a forced landing in the trees. Postcrash examination of the aircraft by FAA inspectors revealed that the fuel in the gascolator was cloudy, orange in color, and contained a small quantity of water. The inspectors also said they found corrosion as well as sediment that appeared to be fuel tank sealant in the gascolator bowl. When they removed the fuselage fuel drain, almost pure water came out of the drain.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the student pilot's improper preflight that resulted in his operating an aircraft with contaminated fuel that resulted in a loss of engine power and a forced landing in the trees and damage to the aircraft. Contributing to the accident were the student's continued flight with known engine problems and his not performing a precautionary landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/28/2000
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1750
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City DANDRIDGE
Event State TENNESSEE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 37725
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 250
Weather Observation Facility ID TYS
Elevation of weather observation facility 981
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 80
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 1000
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 358
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Feb 28 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2020
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Mar 4 2001 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6753S
NTSB Number MIA00LA100
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 150H
Aircraft Series Identifier 150H
Aircraft Serial Number 15067553
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 16 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 8055
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ROBERT J. GANN
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1436 NOCOSEKA TR S 4
Aircraft Owner City ANNISTON
Aircraft Owner State AL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 36201
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code MOR
Departure City MORRISTOWN
Departure State TN
Departure Country
Departure Time 1730
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code GKT
Destination City SEVIERVILLE
Destination State TN
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 4 2001 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --