19990507004779A

Acft engine quit on final approach, and the acft struck trees and a power pole then crashed and flipped over, other circumstances are unknown. (From .19) on may 7, 1999, at 2219 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 152, N48845, lost engine power and collided with obstacles and terrain approx. 1/4 mile from the Stellar airpark in Chandler, Arizona. The acft, operated by south bay aviation, torrance, California, and rented by the pilot for the personal cross-country flight, sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and passenger suffered minor injuries. The flight, conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR part 91 of the federal aviation regulations, originated in torrance about 1840, and was enroute to the Stellar airpark. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed and activated, and, VFR flight following was being provided to the pilot during the course of the flight. The pilot reported that he topped off both fuel tanks before takeoff and checked the tanks visually to verify that they were full. He opened a VFR flight plan approximately 10 minutes into the flight. His flight plan information indicated that h e estimated the trip to take about 3 hours 15 minutes. The pilot reported that he flew at 7,500 feet AGL and leaned the mixture for best economy fuel burn. The pilot reported that he had trouble locating the airport and received radar vectors from phoenix approach control. He stated that the vectors set him up for left traffic to runway 35. He first flew over the airport to get a feel for the layout of the runway. The pilot reported that he remained in left traffic, announced his landing intentions over the radio, and set up for a normal approach. He checked his fuel gauges and noted that both sides reflected 1/4 tank, which he estimated to be about 3 gallons in each side. About 200 feet AGL, he noted that the runway appeared shorter than he had read it to be. The pilot performed a go-around and came back to set up for a short approach. He heard someone else on the radio frequency announcing that he was taxiing onto the active runway. The pilot couldn't see the aircraft, but decided to go around. He reported that he applied full power, pushed the carburetor heat in, and established a positive rate of climb. About 100 feet AGL, the engine quit completely, with no coughin g or sputtering. The pilot wasn't able to restart the engine and headed for a field about 15 degrees off the runway heading. The aircraft touched down in the field, impacted a berm, and became airborne again. The pilot stated that the airplane hit a tree with the right wing about 20 feet AGL, then hit a light post with the left wing about 8 feet AGL. The aircraft rotated forward and impacted the street in a nose-down attitude. The aircraft nosed over and the tail hit a tree. The airplane came to rest inverted, with its tail resting against the tree. The airport/facility directory information for Stellar airpark indicates that the lighting for runway 35 is "non-standard." The runway is 4,004 feet long and only the last 2,000 feet are lighted; there are no threshold lights. A witness stated that because of the nonstandard lighting, approaches to Stellar airpark are normally made from the north. (-23) after making three (3) passes over Stellar airpark (P19) the pilot decided to land but heard a "scratchy" radio transmission from another a/c but could/did not see another a/c. pilot decided to apply full power and not land. At that time the engine quit. All re-start attempts failed and a crash landing occurred approx. a quarter (1/4) mile north of stella airpark. The a/c sustained substantial damage coming to rest on a residential street inverted. The pilot and his one (1) passenger received minor injuries. There was no post-crash fire. The aircraft was ground transported to stella airpark and then eventually to "air transport" (chris jarman) where this writer and NTSB personnel inspected the wreckage.