20020218001159A

(.19) On February 18, 2002, at 1330 central standard time, a Cessna 177 airplane, N3402T, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain near Pond Creek, Oklahoma. The airplane was registered to and operated by eagle sky patrol, of lead, south dakota. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant of the airplane, sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 code of federal regulations part 91 pipeline patrol flight. The flight originated from the pratt industrial airport, pratt, Kansas, at 1155, and its destination was the captain jack thomas/el dorado airport, el dorado, Kansas. In a telephone interview conducted by the NTSB investigator-in-charge, the pilot reported that while on a pipeline control flight at 300 feet AGL, he momentarily "dozed off." "The next thing I knew, the airplane had impacted the ground in a shallow nose down attitude and was sliding across the ground, eventually coming to rest upright in a wheat field, having slid a total of 240 feet." An examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that the nose landing gear had been sheared off, the left main landing gear had separated, impacting the left horizontal stabilizer, the firewall was substantially damaged, and left wing root area was buckled. (-23) this flight originated from plattsburg, MO, on 02/18/02, at 06:54 for the purpose of a pipeline inspection. The pilot's first stop was pratt, KS. He then departed Kansas at 11:55 continuing the flight at an altitude of 300 feet AGL. At approximately 13:30 on 02/18/02, the aircraft struck the ground in Pond Creek, OK. The pilot stated he remembered seeing the pipeline marker 98, but he does not remember the marker 99 because he fell asleep. The pilot suffered two broken ankles in this accident. Aircraft damage consisted of nose gear strut broken out, left wheel and brake assembly broke from strut, cowl damage, forward fuselage and firewall damage, engine mount damage, buckled skin on upper inboard left wing, left wing tip and structure damage, left inboard half of horizontal stabilizer damaged from leading edge to forward spar, engine sudden stoppage from prop strike, and prop blades were bent at 90 degree angles aft. (.4) on February 18, 2002, at 1330 central standard time, a Cessna 177 airplane, N3402T, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain near Pond Creek, Oklahoma. The airplane was registered to and operated by eagle sky patrol, of lead, south dakota. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant of the airplane, sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 code of federal regulations part 91 pipeline patrol flight. The flight originated from the pratt industrial airport, pratt, Kansas, at 1155, and its destination was the captain jack thomas/el dorado airport, el dorado, Kansas. On the pilot/operator aircraft accident report (NTSB form 6120.1/2), and in a telephone interview with the NTSB investigator-in-charge, the pilot reported that he was checking exposed pipe and damaged markers at 300 feet AGL. Before "dozing off," he stated that "everything was quiet and nothing to report," and that he remembered seeing Pond Creek airport and passing markers 97 and 98. The next thing he remembered was the airplane hitting the ground, sliding approximately 240 feet, and coming to rest upright in a wheat field. The pilot secured the airplane, called for assistance, and exited the airplane. A 72-hour sleep log provided by the pilot indicated that on February 15, he slept 7 hours 5 minutes; on February 16, he slept 7 hours 25 minutes; and on February 17, he slept 7 hours 15 minutes. An examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed the nose landing gear had been sheared off, the firewall was buckled, and both propeller blades were bent aft. The left main landing gear had separated and impacted the left horizontal stabilizer. The left wing root area was buckled.