Nashville International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Nashville, Tennessee 37214
Monday, January 17, 2005 11:57 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

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.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

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

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/17/2005
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1157
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Nashville
Event State TENNESSEE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 37214
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 360700N
Event Location Longitude 0864000W
Event Location Airport Nashville International
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KBNA
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport 180
Airport Elevation 599
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1153 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID KBNA
Elevation of weather observation facility 599
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2300
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -4
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.73
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 1
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17540
NTSB Notification Source FAA Communication Center
NTSB Notification Date Jan 18 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 300
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 28 2005 2:59PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Nashville FSDO 03

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N24218
NTSB Number ATL05CA045
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 152
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15280156
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name John Gibi
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1002 Joshua Dr
Aircraft Owner City Mount Juliet
Aircraft Owner State TN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 37122
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name John Gibi
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 1002 Joshua Dr.
Operator City Mt. Juliet
Operator State TN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 37122
Operator Code --
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 KMQY
Departure City Smyrna
Departure State TN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1150
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code KBNA
Destination City Nashville
Destination State TN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --