South Albany Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Selkirk, New York 12158
Monday, September 8, 2014 16:45 EDT

On September 8, 2014, about 1645 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172K, N79438, was substantially damaged when it impacted a parked railroad freight car, then terrain, in Selkirk, New York. The flight instructor and the sport pilot (under instruction for her private pilot certificate) were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the airplane, which had just departed South Albany Airport (4B0), Selkirk, New York, was not operating on a flight plan. The instructional flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to a witness, the pilots told him that that they were going to fly to Columbia County Airport (1B1), Hudson, New York, and that the sport pilot was going to practice maneuvers for her upcoming practical test. The witness then saw the pilots get into the airplane, and while he was walking to his hangar, heard a "normal" engine run-up. He subsequently heard the airplane take off [from runway 19], and it "seemed normal." Shortly thereafter, the witness heard the engine "shut off [and] a second later it started back up." After another second, the witness heard a loud crash. A second witness, who was outside the airport office, saw the airplane take off from runway 19, and after it reached an altitude of about 100 feet, the engine quit. A few seconds later, the witness thought he heard the engine restart, then he heard a loud bang. A third witness was standing by his parked airplane about ¾ of the way down the runway. According to the witness, the accident airplane took off "normally" just past where the witness was standing, and when it had climbed to about 100 feet, the engine completely lost power. The airplane leveled, the engine started again, and the airplane continued a climb past the end of the runway. The engine then began to run "rough," and the airplane banked to the right. As it continued banking, the engine "lost most of its power," and the airplane descended while still in a bank. The airplane then disappeared below a tree line, and the witness heard a single, loud bang. The airplane came to rest in a train yard, next to a line of double deck, covered rail car automobile carriers (auto racks), in the vicinity of 42 degrees, 33.3 minutes north latitude, 073 degrees, 50.1 minutes west longitude. One of the rail cars had white paint transfer marks on its roof and side, which matched damage found on the underside of the left wing and the left wing strut. The side of the rail car also had an area that was indented, with a portion of the left side of the airplane's engine shroud embedded in it. The airplane had significant fore-to-aft crush damage of the engine compartment. All of the airplane's flight control surfaces were located at the accident site, and flight control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit to all of those surfaces. The propeller blades had some leading edge damage and chordwise gouges. The fuel selector was found in the "Both" position; however, one of the first responders stated that he had moved it, but couldn't recall in which direction, in an attempt to stop fuel from leaking. Both wing fuel tanks contained fuel, that when drained, was blue in color and absent of water or debris. The gascolator was destroyed. The single fuel vent initially seemed blocked; however, once removed and sectioned, no blockage was found. Rubber vent coverings on both vented fuel caps were pliable and in good condition. The engine did not exhibit any mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Crankshaft continuity, compression and spark were all confirmed. There were no recording devices onboard the airplane. In addition, the witness standing by the airport office did not hear any radio transmissions from the airplane, and the radio in the office did not have a recording capability. There were also some security cameras at the airport that captured part of the takeoff run, but not the event.

Not Yet Reported