20010818025759A

(-19) On August 18, 2001, approximately 1300 central daylight time, a Cessna 182-A airplane, N4795D, registered to a private individual and operated by sky dive temple, of killeen, Texas, was substantially damaged during a forced landing after a loss of engine power in the vicinity of Salado, Texas. The commercial pilot and his 4 passengers (who were sky divers and executed a normal jump from the airplane prior to the forced landing) were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 code of federal regulations part 91 air drop flight. The local flight originated approximately 1100 from the Salado airport, Salado, Texas. (-23) pilot sean merrill, commercial certificate number 49668429. Preliminary reports indicate this was a parachute jump operation. Pilot stated he had about 30 gallons of fuel on board. He made four (4) takeoffs to 12,000 feet AGL to drop four jumpers each time. After the last four jumped, the engine began to fail at 12,000 feet. Lost all power by 4,000 feet. Pilot made a dead stick landing adjacent to the strip used. Aircraft damage: broke the engine off the mounts, damaged the prop, nose gear, etc. No injuries reported. Note: this accident was not reported to the san antonio FSDO until Tuesday August 21, 2001. (.4) on August 18, 2001, approximately 1330 central daylight time, a Cessna 182A single-engine airplane, N4795D, registered to a private individual and operated by sky dive temple, of killeen, Texas, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power while descending near Salado, Texas. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 code of federal regulations part 91 air drop flight. The local flight originated approximately 1100 from the Salado airport. The pilot reported to the operator, that following a climb to 12,000 feet MSL to drop 4 parachutists, he started his descent back to the airport for another flight. While descending through 10,000 feet, the engine lost power and he switched fuel tanks. The engine continued to operate normally until around 4,000 feet when it lost power again. The pilot elected to "dead-stick" the airplane back to the airport. According to the operator, the airplane was on final approach when witnesses observed that it "dove abruptly into the ground, apparently due to stall." The owner of the sky dive operation reported that airplane had been fueled with a total of 40 gallons of fuel prior to the flight. The pilot was to fly 3 drops before the next refueling. The owner added that the pilot had received initial training on the accident airplane and was aware that the fuel burn was 18 gph for this type of operation and he was also aware that the normal procedure was to fly 3 drops between refueling. The owner added that the pilot lost track of the number of drops he had flown, and ended up flying a fourth drop. According to the aircraft tachometer, the airplane had flown a total of 2 hours and 17 minutes since it was last refueled. The owner of the airplane also examined the wreckage at the accident site and reported that "both fuel cells were dry." Examination of the wreckage by an FAA inspector, who traveled to the accident site, revealed that the propeller assembly was damaged, the nose gear assembly had separated from the airframe, the engine broke off its mounts, and the engine firewall sustained structural damage. The fuel tanks were not compromised.