Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Washington, Oklahoma 73093
Thursday, May 3, 2001 13:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the flight instructor and pilot receiving instruction, the student was demonstrating a commercial flight maneuver, at 2,100 feet agl, when they smelled an odor similar to "electrical burning." The instructor told the student to terminate the maneuver and return to the airport. While the student was terminating the maneuver, visible smoke appeared in the cabin, and heat was felt coming from beneath the instrument panel. The instructor assumed control of the airplane. The engine was shut down and a forced landing was executed to a field. During the landing, the airplane encountered soft terrain, nosed over and came to rest inverted. A plastic hydraulic reservoir, from the hydraulic power pack, was found melted and laying on the cockpit floor. The hydraulic power pack was examined and functionally tested at Aero Electric Inc., Wichita, Kansas, under supervision of the FAA. According a report from Aero Electric, the power pack and its related components operated within manufacturer's specifications.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the in-flight fire for an undetermined reason, which resulted in a forced landing. A contributory factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/3/2001
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1300
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Washington
Event State OKLAHOMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 73093
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 5
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 1353 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID OUN
Elevation of weather observation facility 1182
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 10
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2900
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 16
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.06
Density Altitude (feet) 2636
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 10974
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 3 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1850
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Nov 14 2001 10:29AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9696B
NTSB Number FTW01LA113
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172RG
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172RG0975
Certified Max Gross Weight 2658
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Apr 4 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 97
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Christensen Aviation Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 22 Carpenter Plaza, Suite 462
Aircraft Owner City Wilmington
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19810
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Airman Flight School Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 1948 Goddard Avenue
Operator City Norman
Operator State OK
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 73069
Operator Code QFGS
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code OUN
Departure City Norman
Departure State OK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1230
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 29 2001 9:12AM
User who most recently changed record MORJU
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --