NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On June 12, 2004, at 1315 Eastern Daylight Time, a Cessna 172F, N8777U, registered to Tellico Air Services Inc., operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, collided with the ground in the vicinity of Madisonville, Tennessee, while maneuvering. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was destroyed. The private pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. The flight originated from Monroe County Airport, Madisonville, Tennessee, on June 12, 2004, at 1220.

An employee at the Monroe County Airport stated the pilot arrived at the airport at about 1130 and conducted a preflight inspection of the airplane. The pilot informed him that he and his wife were going to fly over their home, take some pictures, and fly around the local area. At 1215, the pilot and his wife boarded the airplane, taxied out to run up area for runway 05 and conducted an engine run up. At 1315, the pilot announced over the UNICOM radio frequency that he was on down wind for a touch and go on runway 23. When the pilot did not return at 1400, the employee drove to the approach end of runway 05 and 23 looking for the airplane with negative results. The employee returned to the office and started calling local area airports looking for the airplane with negative results. At 1600, the employee called the Airport Manager and informed him that he could not locate the airplane and another ramp search was initiated with negative results. At 1655, another pilot requested landing instructions over the UNICOM frequency. The employee asked the arriving pilot to look for the airplane. The pilot called back and stated he observed a Cessna 172 inverted off the departure end of runway 23. The airport employee telephoned the emergency 911 operator and reported the accident.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

Review of information on file with the FAA Airman's Certification Division, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, revealed the pilot was issued a private pilot certificate on April 2, 2004, with ratings for airplane single engine land. The pilot held a third class medical issued on August 23, 2003, with the restriction "Holder must wear corrective lenses." Review of the pilot's logbook revealed the pilot had accumulated 127.5 hours with 103.9 hours in the Cessna 172. The pilot had flown 15.8 hours in the last 90 days and .3 hours in the last 30 days. The pilot's last biennial flight review was conducted on April 2, 2004. The last entry in the pilot's logbook was on May 6, 2004.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The last annual inspection was conducted on March 8, 2004, and the tachometer was 851.0. The airplane had flown 48.4 hours since the last inspection. The tachometer time at the crash site was 899.4. The Hobbs time at the crash site was 473.5. Review of refueling records on file at Tellico Air Services, Inc., revealed the airplane was topped off on June 12, 2004, with 9 gallons of automotive fuel.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1253 surface weather observation was: wind variable at 4 knots, visibility 10 miles, 5,000 scattered, 12,000 broken, temperature 90- degrees Fahrenheit, dew point temperature 64 degrees Fahrenheit, and altimeter 30.02.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The wreckage was located .3 of a mile south southwest of Monroe County Airport, Madisonville, Tennessee, in an open field. Examination of the crash site revealed the airplane collided with the ground in a nose down, attitude, on a heading of 160-degrees magnetic. The airplane came to rest inverted on a heading of 230-degrees magnetic. A 30 foot long ground scar was present in front of the engine assembly.

The engine assembly was displaced aft and to the right. The engine assembly separated from all engine mounts. The upper engine cowling remained attached to the airframe. The lower engine cowling separated. The firewall was crushed aft and received upward accordion crushing. The nose gear was bent aft parallel to the bottom of the fuselage and the nose wheel was separated. The propeller assembly remained attached to the crankshaft flange and the composite spinner was fragmented. The propeller blade remained attached to the propeller hub. One propeller blade was bent aft 30-degrees 6-inches outboard of the propeller hub and exhibited "s" bending and chord wise scarring. The remaining propeller blade was bent aft 5-inches inboard of the propeller tip, and chord wise scarring was present on the propeller blade tip. The aft side of both propeller blades were not damaged.

The cockpit area was compressed aft and upward. Both forward and rear doorposts were buckled forward and the cabin roof was buckled downward and compressed aft. The windshield and left and right cabin doors separated from the airframe. Both door latches were in the latched position. The cabin floor and seat tracks were bent upward, downward and distorted. The left and right fronts seats separated from the seat tracks. Both seat frames were buckled to the left and three of each seat frame attachment points on each seat were spread and one attachment point on each seat were broken. The rear bench seat remained attached to the cabin floor structure. The left baggage compartment door remained attached to the airframe and was in the open position. The door latch was in the latched position. The left main landing gear was bent aft 45-degrees and remained attached to the airframe. The right main landing gear remained intact. The left control column was separated from the control "y" assembly and the right control column was in place and would not move. The elevator and rudder cables were continuous from the aft bell cranks up to the aft cabin pulley sector.

The right wing separated from its aft wing spar attachment point. The leading edge of the right wing received accordion crushing starting 8 feet outboard of the wing root extending outboard to the wing tip. The forward edge of the wing tip was separated. The right wing strut remained attached to the wing and fuselage attachment points. The right flap was retracted and remained attached to its attachment points. The right aileron remained attached to the aileron hinges. The right wing aileron bell crank carry through cable separated at the bell crank. The aileron bell crank turnbuckle was intact and safety wired. The right main fuel tank was not ruptured and a vented fuel cap was installed.

The empennage remained attached to the fuselage and was bent downward 45-degrees. The left and right side of the empennage was bent upward and aft 45-degrees. The dorsal fin remained attached to the tail cone and was not damaged. The top 22-inches of the vertical fin was damaged. The rudder assembly remained attached to the hinge assemblies, rudder horn, and rudder cables. The rudder assembly and balance weight were damaged. The left horizontal stabilizer was buckled on the top aft surface. The right horizontal stabilizer bottom surface exhibited a nose wheel tire transfer marks on the access panel. The left and right elevators were not damaged and both balance weights were intact. The rudder and elevator cables were continuous from the flight control surfaces through their bell cranks up to the aft cabin pulley sector.

The left wing remained attached to its fore and aft wing spar attachment points. The leading edge of the left wing was not damaged except for the outboard 25 inches of the wing. The left wing strut remained attached to the wing and fuselage attachment points. The left flap was retracted and remained attached to its attachment points. The left flap contacted the left rear passenger window. The left aileron remained attached to the aileron hinges. The left aileron cables were continuous through the bell crank up to the left wing root area. The left fuel tank was not ruptured and a non-vented fuel cap was installed. The left fuel vent line was connected. The air line to the stall warning horn was not obstructed.

Examination of the engine assembly revealed the left exhaust tubes and muffler were damaged and separated from the engine. The right muffler and exhaust were intact and not damaged. The right induction manifold was intact. The left induction manifold separated from the engine and was damaged. The carburetor separated from the engine. The throttle plate was damaged and fuel was present in the carburetor. The air filter and assembly received damage. Both magnetos were intact and not damaged. Both magnetos produced spark at all ignition towers when turned by hand. The snap ring on the left magneto shaft in the distributor housing was off. The ignition harness was damaged at the distributor cap, and on the top No.3, 5, and 6 spark plugs. The remaining ignition harness was intact. The top spark plugs were removed and examined. The No.1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 spark plugs exhibited "normal wear" when compared to the Champion Aviation Check A Plug Chart. The No.2 spark plug was "worn out normal" when compared to the Champion Aviation Check A Plug Chart. The No.1, 3, 4, and 5 spark plug electrodes were tan in color with no carbon deposits. The No.2 and 6 spark plugs were oil soaked with no carbon deposits. The oil sump received damage at the front and bottom. Compression and suction was obtained on all cylinders. All cylinders were intact and not damaged. All piston crowns were intact, dark in color, with tan carbon deposits. The crankcase was intact and not damaged. The crankshaft was intact. Continuity was confirmed to the gear and valve drive train when the crankshaft was rotated by hand. The starter and starter adapter were intact. The generator received impact damage. The vacuum pump was intact and not damaged. The drive coupling was intact and the pump rotated freely when the pump was rotated by hand. The oil screen was free of contaminants.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

The Monroe County Medical Examiner conducted a postmortem examination of the pilot, on June 13, 2004. The reported cause of death was blunt force trauma. The Forensic Toxicology Research Section, Federal Aviation Administration, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma performed postmortem toxicology of specimens from the pilot. The results were negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide and ethanol. Sertraline, 0.092 (ug/ml, ug/g), and desmethylsertraline, 0.338 (ug/ml, ug/g) was detected in the blood and urine.

A certificate of death was issued by the Monroe County Coroner, on June 21, 2004, for the passengers. The reported cause of death was blunt force trauma. No postmortem toxicology of specimens from the passengers were requested or preformed.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Review of the Model 172 and Skyhawk Owner's Manual, Figure 5-2, Power Off Stalling Speeds revealed at a gross weight of 2,300 pounds with flaps up the airplane will stall at 57 miles per hour (MPH) with 0-degrees flap. The airplane will stall at 59 mph with flaps up at a 20-degrees angle of bank. The airplane will stall at 65 mph with flaps up at a 40-degree angle of bank. The airplane will stall at 81 mph with flaps up at a 60-degree angle of bank.

The wreckage was released to Atlanta Air Recovery, Griffin, Georgia, on August 3, 2004. The pilot logbook and Garmin Street Pilot III GPS was released to the daughter of the pilot on July 1, 2004.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering on a touch and go landing resulting in a stall and collision with the ground.