20050813029219A

(-23) N7534W, A PA28-180 HAVING DEPARTED JAMESTOWN, NY, PILOTED BY ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ , CRASHED APPROXIMATELY 3/4 MILE SHORT OF RUNWAY 24 AT ERIE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THERE WERE 4 OCCUPANTS. THE TWO FRONT SEAT OCCUPANTS AND ONE REAR SEAT OCCUPANT WERE PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE SCENE BY THE ERIE COUNTY CORONER. THE SURVIVING REAR SEAT OCCUPANT WAS TRANSPORTED TO HAMOT REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER TRAUMA UNIT VIA HELICOPTER SUFFERING FROM MULTIPLE SEVERE BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA INJURIES. HAVING EXHAUSTED THE USABLE FUEL SUPPLY, THE AIRCRAFT GLIDED APPROXIMATELY 7 MILES BEFORE INITIALLY IMPACTING TREE TOPS WITH THE LEFT WING. THE AIRCRAFT THEN FELL APPROXIMATELY 70 FEET VERTICALLY AND 200 FEET HORIZONTALLY ON A 210 DG. COURSE, IMPACTING THE SURFACE AT A NEAR VERTICAL AND INVERTED ATTITUDE, NOSE AND LEFT WING FIRST IN A GRASSY AREA AT N42 DG. 05.468' AND W80 DG. 09.301'. THE AIRCRAFT BOUNCED ONCE AND ULTIMATELY CAME TO REST INVERTED APPROXIMATELY 35 FEET FURTHER ALONG THE 210 DEGREE COURSE. THE ENTIRE NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT FORWARD OF THE WINDSHIELS POSTS, INCLUDING THE FIREWALL AND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WAS CRUSHED AND DISPLACED ALONG THE LEFT SIDE OF THE FUSELAGE. THE LEFT WI NG EXHIBITED SIGNIFICANT LEADING EDGE IMPACT DAMAGE PERPENDICULAR TO SPAN AND CHORD LINES, CONSISTENT WITH CONTACT WITH VERTICAL TREE BOUGHS FOUND BROKEN AT THE SCENE. SMALL BRANCHES WERE FOUND TRAPPED IN SPLITS BETWEEN WING PANELS. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE CAUSED BY CONTACT WITH TREES WAS TO THE LEFT WING FUEL TANK. THE TANK SKIN RUPTURED AT TOP AND BOTTOM AT THE MAIN CREASE FORMED BY THE DEFORMATION OF THE SKIN. THERE WAS NO FUEL STAIN AT THE CREASE AND NO ODOR OF FUEL AT THE SCENE APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES AFTER THE ACCIDENT. THE LEFT WING ALSO EXHIBITED GROUND CONTACT LEADING EDGE COMPRESSION DEFORMATION FROM WING TANK TO TIP AND DOWNWARD IMPACT DEFORMATION OF THE OUTER 1/3 OF THE SPAN. THIS DAMAGE WAS CONSISTENT WITH THE GROUND SCAR AND WITH THE FRACTURED WINGTIP PARTS LEFT AT THE END OF THE GROUND SCAR. A SHALLOW CRATER AT THE INITIAL POINT OF IMPACT CONTAINED THE PROPELLER, SPINNER, AND FLYWHEEL AND WAS SURROUNDED BY BROKEN SHARDS OF WINDSHIELD AND THE OAT GAGE, WHICH WAS MOUNTED NEAR THE AIRCRAFT CENTERLINE IN THE UPPER WINDSHIELD. THE SCAR CREATED BY THE IMPACT OF THE LEFT WING EXTENDED FROM THIS CRATER ON A 300-DEGREE BEARING. THERE WAS VIRTUALLY NO HORIZONTAL COMPONENT TO THE CRATER OR THE LINEAR SCAR LEFT BY THE WING. THE RIGHT WINGTIP AND OUTER THIRD OF THE RIGHT WING EXHIBITED MODERATE GROUND IMPACT SCARRING. THERE WERE NO DISCERNABLE MATCHING GROUND SCARS CORRESPONDING TO THE RIGHT WING DAMAGE. THE GROUND WAS VERY SOLID AND WELL MANICURED AS IT WAS A "ROUGH" AREA ADJACENT TO A GOLF COURSE FAIRWAY. THE VERTICAL TAIL RESTED ON THE GROUND SUPPORTED BY AN UNBROKEN ANTI-COLLISION LIGHT GLOBE. THE GLOBE RESTED IN A VERY SHALLOW CIRCULAR DIMPLE CORRESPONDING TO THE SHAPE AND SIZE OF THE GLOBE. ACCORDING TO THE DIGITAL RECORD OF THE ERIE TRACON RADAR PLOT AND THE CORRESPONDING VOICE TAPE BETWEEN THE TOWER CONTROLLER AND THE PILOT, WHEN THE FLIGHT WAS APPROXIMATELY 8 MILES EAST OF THE AIRPORT AT 4,500 FEET MSL (3,750 FEET AGL AIRPORT) THE PILOT ADVISED THE ERIE TOWER CONTROLLER THAT HE COULD NOT EXECUTE THE ASSIGNED VISUAL TRAFFIC PATTERN TO RUNWAY 6. INSTEAD, HE STATED THAT HE NEEDED TO MAKE A STRAIGHT IN APPROACH TO RUNWAY 24 BECAUSE HE "RAN OUT OF GAS". PRIOR TO THIS RADIO CALL TO ERIE TOWER, THERE WAS NO STATED INDICATION OF ANY DIFFICULTY WITH THE FLIGHT. ACCORDING TO THE DIGITAL RADAR PLOT, THE PILOT MAINTAINED A CONSTANT 80-85 KNOT GROUNDSPEED DURING THE COURSE OF THE GLIDE. THE CONTROLLER, UPON REALIZING THE FLIGHT WAS IN DIFFICULTY, PROVIDED DISTANCE INFORMATION AND COACHING TO THE PILOT, AND DISPATCHED AIRPORT FIRE/RESCUE PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT. AFR EQUIPMENT WAS INITIALLY DIRECTED TO THE MIDPOINT OF THE AIRPORT BECAUSE THE FLIGHT APPEARED AS THOUGH IT MAY REACH THE AIRPORT. WHEN THE AIRCRAFT DROPPED OUT OF SIGHT ON SHORT FINAL, THE CONTROLLER PRESUMED THE AIRCRAFT LANDED SHORT OF THE RUNWAY AND THE EQUIPMENT WAS RELEASED TO VENTURE OFF AIRPORT ALONG THE FINAL APPROACH PATH IN SEARCH OF THE DOWNED AIRCRAFT. IT WAS FOUND WITHIN 5 MINUTES OF IMPACT, WHICH OCCURRED AT 2114 LOCAL TIME. UPON INSPECTION OF THE WRECKAGE, ONLY 16.5 OUNCES OF FUEL/WATER REMAINED IN THE AIRCRAFT RIGHT WING TANK. THE LEFT WING TANK WAS EMPTY.